More Than We Should
by SirSigil
Summary: Scott and Sara have never been ones for the normal, quiet life. They both much prefer the thrill of danger. That love led them into all kinds of trouble in the Milky Way. It even led them to Andromeda. Wherever they went though, they always went together. How are you supposed to keep a forbidden love secret? Post-Game. (Scott / Sara) Sibling Incest.
1. More Than We Should

**More Than We Should**

"And this … is the bridge." Scott gestured with a flourish to the command centre of the Tempest.

Sara stepped onto the bridge and paused to take it all in. Metal and glass blended seamlessly into the sleek design of the ship. The window at the fore of the room framed the alien stars of the Heleus cluster beyond. The Pathfinder's command console rose smoothly from the floor, inviting direction.

"… _Wow_." Sara drawled with a heavy dose of sarcasm as she strolled onto the deck. The female Ryder chuckled when she received a shove from her brother.

"I know you're impressed really. You haven't met Kallo and Suvi yet, have you?"

Scott indicated the two figures sat at their stations either side of the central aisle. Kallo Jath worked away in his pilot's seat, his fingers a blur of action as he manoeuvred the Tempest through the cosmos. To the Salarian's left, the human scientist Suvi Anwar was examining some readouts on her monitor. The science officer perked up and her head turned at the sound of the twins. Suvi swivelled and stood from her chair, making her way over with a warm smile.

"You must be Sara, a pleasure to meet you at last."

"I bet he hasn't said a nice word about me, has he?"

"On the contrary, he's been worried sick. It's obvious he cares for you."

"Aww, I knew you cared, little bro." Sara smirked, reaching up to ruffle Scott's hair.

"Shut up, I'm only younger by a few minutes." Scott batted his sister's arm away irritably.

Kallo stood from his seat and walked over with a wide smile. "Ah, another Ryder, welcome to the Tempest."

"Pleasure to be here." Sara took Kallo's hand. "She doesn't have a sister does she? Wouldn't mind a ship like this myself."

"No, the Tempest is one of a kind." Kallo enthused brightly, holding his head high proudly. "Some of the most advanced technology the Milky Way had to offer is housed in this very ship. Maybe I could show you some time?"

"That's great, thanks, Kallo." Scott cut in before Sara could answer. "I'm just giving her the general tour, maybe later?"

"Of course, of course, I'll look forward to it." The Salarian was unperturbed, still smiling wide. "I'll prepare some schematics I can show you."

"Sounds great." Sara managed what she hoped was a genuine smile. Leering over diagrams and charts was not her idea of fun.

"Come on, I've still got the rest of the ship to show you." Scott manoeuvred his sister by the shoulder.

"Of course, take care you two, don't get in any trouble now." Suvi waved them off warmly.

As the twins turned to leave the bridge, Sara turned slightly to Scott. "What's wrong, jealous?" She teased quietly.

"Trust me, Kallo's a great guy, an even better pilot. But when he gets talking, he never stops." Scott chuckled.

"Yeah, you're jealous." Sara prodded her brother in the ribs with her elbow. "I like him."

She pretended not to notice the glare he sent her way.

"I wonder what you'll make of the others, PeeBee, Drack, Vetra." Scott sighed, more to himself than anything. "You'll probably take to them pretty fast, as always."

"Aww, don't worry Scott, I won't steal all your crew from you. I'll just leave you the boring ones."

When he gave no reply, she moved her hand to tangle her fingers around his.

"You don't need to worry about a thing."

He levelled an even look at her, lips slightly turned in a smile. He was just like she remembered from the Milky Way, six hundred years ago. That warm, comforting smile and piercing gaze of her brother, was everything to her.

She chuckled to herself. Though everything had changed, some things had stayed exactly the same.

xxx

Scott showed his sister around the rest of the ship and introduced his team and crew. Sara could tell he was barely managing to keep his excitement reigned in about finally having a ship to call his own. The Tempest's crew were a colourful bunch: turian, asari, salarian, krogan and even a member of one of Andromeda's native species, the angara. It reminded her of the vids of the crew of the Normandy and the first human Spectre. It was strange to think that her own brother was something of a hero in a similar vein.

"Final stop on the Pathfinder tour." Scott smirked with a sideways glance as they approached one final door. "The Pathfinder's very own private cabin."

"Your own private cabin, eh?" Sara pursed her lips, impressed. "So this is what I can look forward to when they make me Pathfinder?"

A light chuckle, "Didn't you get the memo, only one Pathfinder per species, remember?"

"Well, now they've got the prime Ryder back in action, they'll soon see sense. If not, maybe, we could 'path find' together?"

"There's always a place for you here. You never need to ask." Scott smiled warm, sincere.

Sara returned his smile gratefully. She opened her mouth to say something as she turned, then let out a sharp gasp as pain suddenly lanced in her abdomen. As soon as it came, it passed.

"Easy." Scott warned with furrowed brow as he eased her over to the bed. "You sure you should be up and about yet?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine, relax." Sara waved her brother off. "Just a twinge. I probably just moved the wrong way, maybe some cramp. Turns out lying in a bed for months on end is no substitute for proper exercise." She gave him her most reassuring smile.

"I should call Lexi, she can look you over."

"Scott." Sara reached out and gave his arm a squeeze with a smile. "I'm fine, stop worrying. I'm not gonna keel over and die. It was just a twinge, really. I fought off the Archon, remember? A little pain isn't gonna kill me now."

A heavy sigh, "You're right, you're right. I'm sorry, I just-"

Sara could see him bite his tongue to stop himself.

"What is it?"

"I've nearly lost you twice now." He couldn't quite meet her eyes. "You very nearly never woke up from stasis. Then, when the Archon had you, I … I don't know what I'd do if I lost you again."

Letting out a sigh of her own, Sara stood from the bed. She reached up to cup her brother's face in a gentle hand, forcing him to look her in the eye.

"Scott, I'm not going anywhere, not after all this time."

She leaned forward to rest her forehead on his, closing her eyes contently. She reached her lips out and laid a soft kiss over his.

"You'll have to shoot me to get rid of me now. You're cute when you're worried about me though." She murmured with a chuckle.

A breathy laugh in response. "I didn't- I mean, I wasn't sure if-"

"Nothing's changed." Sara leaned back with a smirk as his tentative eyes searched hers for answers. "New galaxy, new ship … still just me and you, against it all. We're still _us_."

"You make it sound so romantic." A relieved smile.

"Good, I was trying after all." A cheeky wink, then she very deliberately turned her head and eyed the bed for a long moment, before turning back. Big blue eyes shimmered and shone with life brighter than the stars outside.

Scott allowed himself a smile then leaned in to kiss her again. At first it was tentative, nervous after so long of being apart. Then it quickly became desperate, passionate, in only the way a forbidden love could be. All the while, the stars sparkled and danced across the cosmos all around them.

xxx

Scott breathed deep and slow, savouring every second of peaceful solitude. They lay in bed still, covered only by the sheets strewn haphazardly across them both. Their legs still intertwined. Sara was dozing lazily, her full lips parted slightly, brown locks tousled and out of place. Across all the planets he had visited, in all the galaxies, Scott had never seen anything so beautiful, and he had seen some wonders in his life.

He gently leaned over and pressed a warm kiss to her brow. She slowly stirred with a groan, just like she used to in the Milky Way. Her large, pale blue eyes fluttered open and those lips turned into a familiar smile as she found her brother. She stretched her arms and neck with a yawn and settled back down with her hands over her chest.

"Morning." That slight scratch to her voice was beautifully amplified by her drowsiness.

"Morning." Scott smirked, propping his head on an arm as they gazed into each other's eyes. "How're you feeling."

"Good, great. I've missed this. You know, just us."

"Me too."

"How long has it been since we could just … be together like this?"

"A few hundred years I think, give or take." And a smirk.

Sara threw him a glare with a humoured smile.

"Alright smartarse." She turned to gaze at the ceiling, her brow furrowed suddenly. "You know, nothing will really change, will it? We'll still have to keep this- us a secret, won't we?"

A long pause.

"I guess so."

"I know it's stupid, but I- I just had this idea that maybe, when we finally got out here, things would somehow be different, you know?" She wiped at her eyes with a sniff. "Just being stupid I guess."

Scott never liked to see her down. He settled back down into the bed then pulled his sister over towards him, she obliged with a ghost of a chuckle as they cuddled close. Her head rested on his chest and hand over his heart.

"One day, we'll find our own place, a planet just for the two of us."

"That hasn't turned out too well now has it? All the golden worlds were a bust."

"Well, thanks to Meridian, the worlds are turning golden again, aren't they?"

"True." She murmured with a smile. "It's so hard to believe, I almost forgot."

"And I'm the Pathfinder, remember? I'm _your_ Pathfinder."

She snorted at that.

"So tell me what you want, anything at all: worlds full of trees, jungles, maybe nothing but snow or lava. You name it, I'll go out and find it."

"Well," She began uncertainly, drawing lazy circles over his chest, "I guess, I've always wanted to have a place right on the frontier. Somewhere I can just go outside and walk straight into adventure." A warm smile graced her lips once more at the thought. "Somewhere I'll never know what the next day will bring."

"Then I'll find you the most dangerous, life threatening planet there is." Scott smirked, pressing a kiss to Sara's head. "It should be simple enough, everything seems dangerous in this galaxy. In fact, I'll get you an entire cluster or two."

"Now you're just being stupid." Yet her face was brighter at the thought.

She shuffled her position again, this time rolling to lie on top of him. Scott played with her hair as she gazed at him with bright blue eyes that mirrored his own.

"You know what I really want?" Sara murmured softly.

"Tell me."

"To stay like this, forever, even if it has to be secret. These … moments between us, sometimes I think it's the only thing keeping me going."

Scott smiled. "I love you, more than I should."

"Fuck what we _should_." Sara almost spat the word, her expression desperate, pleading. "I love you too, and I don't care what the galaxy thinks, this one or the last. I don't care that we came into this world together. This right here is the only thing that matters to me."

"Took the words right out of my mouth." Scott caressed his sister's reddening cheek lovingly.

"You were never one for words." Sara snorted. "I still remember your speech at Mum and Dad's anniversary dinner."

The brother laughed, shaking them both slightly. "Oh God, don't remind me. That was such a train wreck."

Sara shook her head with a smile before lowering her head over his chest, listening to his heartbeat. He found that so relaxing, having her weight upon him, his arms wrapped around her. It was just so natural.

"Do you think they'd hate us?" Her voice was thick and tentative.

Scott breathed deeply before replying, idly stroking her back in a soothing rhythm of circles. It was a question that had come up more than once. Each time Scott had said the same thing, maybe worded differently, but always the same. It never seemed to stick for long, but still he always made the effort.

"Nah, Dad dedicated his life to illegal AI research, Mum was pretty supportive of all that, wasn't she? Is that really so different from us?"

"We're not some computer project, Scott. We're … we're brother and sister."

"What I mean is … we're both looked down on by society, feared and maligned in similar ways. Yet, we can't go rogue and … I don't know, bring down a space station. Well, maybe _we_ could, but not by just being together. What harm can us being together possibly do compared to what an AI could? They'd be surprised sure, might take them a while to get round to the idea, but no, they wouldn't hate us. I don't believe that."

Sara merely hummed in reply, lost in thought.

"We couldn't have kids though." She murmured after a while. "It wouldn't be right. You know there's all sorts of health risks involved."

"You never know, maybe a Doctor could sort something out. They can do anything these days. Remember how we talked when you were in that coma? Anything's possible."

"Maybe." Sara seemed to brighten at the thought. "Just, _don't_ ask Lexi about it. She might be an expert and all, but … but let's give it some time before we tell anyone, ok?"

"I won't say a word, I promise. We'll work it out," Scott swore to his sister with another kiss to her head. "One day we'll be able to just be us."

Sara grasped her brother's arm and squeezed it tight for a second. They lay there in silence for a while, just listening to the beating of their hearts.

"I hope they don't hate us." Sara whispered. She didn't need to say who.

"Well, they couldn't hate you anyway." Scott squeezed his sister in a cuddle. "I'm the evil twin remember, corrupting his sweet, innocent, little sister."

"Little? I'm older than you, remember?" She scowled.

"Yeah, but I'm taller." He smirked.

A laugh. "And what makes you so sure that _I'm_ not the evil one?"

Sara turned once more, her face bright, just like he remembered. She leaned over her brother, arms planted either side of his head as she loomed over him.

"I can have some pretty corrupting thoughts too, you know." Sara's smirk was certainly evil.

"Oh yeah? Like what?"

"I think it's better if I show you." Sara barely whispered and swooped in for the kiss.

Scott caressed her back lovingly as they fumbled together. The morning was lost to them, savouring the precious little time they had to just be themselves. Locked away from the galaxy in that cabin, the twins showed each other just how much they cared.

xxx

"We're breaching the atmosphere now, landing in five, Pathfinder." Kallo's voice pinged in over the comm. The barely discernible drone of the Tempest's engines seemed to disappear entirely as the salarian eased the ship into a landing.

Scott adjusted the gauntlets of his armour till they felt just right, then went to retrieve his helmet.

"So, this planet have a name yet?" Sara was busy giving her rifle the last once over.

Scott patted her on the shoulder as he passed by her. Since they'd finally left the seclusion of the Pathfinder's cabin, it had been back to regular, normal brother and sister for them, nothing out of the ordinary.

"Only a bunch of numbers I think." Drack grumbled, his bulk sat across two seats. "_Astronomers_. You'd think people who look at stars all their life would have a bit more imagination."

"It's easier to name planets as clusters when your millions of light years away though." Scott test slotted his helmet into place over his head with a familiar suction noise. "Besides, there's too many planets out there. Soon enough you run out of variations on 'Utopia' or 'Discovery', even if you just put 'New' at the start."

"Hard to give a damn about numbers though. Whoever fought to the last man to protect Planet D3490-1?" Vetra was craning her arms in backward arcs to limber up.

"Shouldn't we get to rename it as the first people to make planet fall?" The female Ryder raised her eyebrow with a hopeful glint in her eye.

"You'll have to make that case to Director Tann I think." Suvi inputted over the comm.

"That's a no then." Drack shook his head with a snort.

"What shall we call her?" Unperturbed, Sara moved over to the tiny view port in the side of the hull, craning her neck to try and get a better glimpse of the rapidly approaching sphere. "Looks pretty green to me, greener than most planets we've found so far."

"Green?" The krogan offered. "Big Green?"

"Don't you have a romantic side, Drack?" Sara turned to face the old warrior with a smirk.

"I think I ate it, about six centuries ago."

"What's krogan for green then?"

"Depends, which krogan?" Drack smirked. "We have many languages and dialects. Do all humans have just one word for everything?"

"Fair point." Sara conceded. "What's green in your _particular brand _of krogan then?"

"Kannalar."

"See, that's much better." Sara smiled. "Welcome to planet Kannalar everyone."

"Works for me." Vetra shrugged.

"You aliens are easily impressed." Drack shook his hefty head but didn't complain further.

"Alright everyone," The Pathfinder drew their attention. "Now that's settled, we're just here to scout Kannalar out – That does have a nice ring to it – No need to do anything too risky, just assess the planet's suitability for settlement. We'll break into pairs to cover more ground, Drack you're with Vetra, Sara with me. Anyone see anything they can't handle, call for backup immediately."

"You got it, Pathfinder." Sara winked at her twin.

"Touching down now, Pathfinder team." Kallo alerted them over the comm.

Scott felt a slight lurch, less than an elevator would cause, as the Tempest met solid ground under Kallo's expert control. The exit hatch hissed as the hydraulics got to work, the dark metal ramp lowered smoothly to reveal a luscious green paradise beyond.

"Happy hunting."

xxx

Kannalar was a marvel of a planet, according to Initiative files, it had been little more than a barren wasteland of endless storms six hundred years ago. It wasn't expected to change at all by the time the Arc's reached Heleus. Yet fate and design were in their favour. The activation of Meridian had clearly had a dramatic impact on the planet's surface. In the space of a few short months since the Archon's defeat, life had burst into life on this now green utopia.

"So, I believe we had a bet." Sara smirked as the Ryder's wandered around the wild grasslands of Kannalar. A still lake hung to their side, their view was framed by hills and mountains that arced across the landscape gracefully. Blue skies above dotted by the occasional cloud drifting by.

"Which one?" Scott chuckled, picking up a pebble and skimming it over the lake. "I think I lost track of them all after the drinking challenge in Chora's Den. Brain damage will do that to you."

"First one to climb the highest mountain of course." Sara indicated a peak a short ways in the distance. "Remember? We said loser gets to buy drinks for a month."

"How do you even know that's the highest mountain?"

"I don't, but we've got to start somewhere."

Scott chuckled. "Alright sis, you're on."

"Good … and go!" Sara took off into a full sprint, laughing gleefully.

"Hey! Cheater!" Scott took off after her with a shake of his head. He used his biotics to pull him further along, trying to close the gap.

Sara saved her own biotics, opting instead to use her jump jets to give her an extra boost over the longer jumps and higher climbs. They soon made it to a sheer rock face, no safe way but to climb. Still ahead, Sara leapt into the air, her jump jets carrying her high and she latched onto the cliff. Scott followed suit a short ways behind.

"What's the matter, Pathfinder?" Sara called back, panting. "Too busy enjoying the view?"

Scott chose that moment to look up, seeing Sara's behind shifting side to side rhythmically as she climbed ever higher.

"Tempting, but no." He called back.

He heard a faint chuckle reach him over the winds that whipped around the mountain.

Onwards they climbed, until Scott spotted a ledge that Sara was reaching fast. He'd barely caught up at all to his sister. He tried using his biotics to climb faster, but it did little good. Sure enough, Sara reached the ledge before him and disappeared out of sight.

"Wow." Sara enthused once she reached the top of the ledge.

"You weren't this enthusiastic about the Tempest." Scott strained a little as he clambered up the rock face shortly behind his twin.

"Come on, I was just playing with you. You know I love her, but this place is just so, so …"

"I know." Scott murmured as he finally caught up with her. They hadn't reached the summit yet. The twins stood in a cavern that bored all the way through the mountain. On the other side, the scene that was laid out before them was surreal: beyond their mossy ridge, bright green meadows roaming inside a boxed canyon, great waterfalls streaming down the cliff faces, turning into rivers somehow both red and blue. Strange animals, like a cross between a big cat and a deer wandered about grazing.

"Just think," Sara breathed, "We're probably the first people to ever see this place."

"Was it worth the trip?"

"Definitely."

"I was hoping you'd say that."

"Hey, look over there." Sara moved off to the side. Scott followed her gaze and eyed a cavern that extended further up the mountain. "Come on, I haven't beaten you yet." She laughed then took off again.

Scott was quicker on the pace this time and kept close on his sister's heels. They clambered up through the tunnel system, going higher and higher. Scott managed to get about level with Sara, brother and sister jostling for the lead. Then they emerged out into another cavern that made them forget about their little race.

"Wow." It was Scott's turn to stop and stare. Another opening looking down on the valley below, a waterfall hung over this one. A hole in the roof of the cavern brought beams of sunlight cascading into the hollow. As the light hit the water, a beautiful rainbow of impossible colours and pigments danced majestically off the shimmering wall, back into the cavern.

"This is amazing." Sara padded forward within touching distance of the waterfall. "Now this is a planet I want to live on!" She turned, smiling bright and wide.

In that moment, everything just made sense to Scott. The life and light in his sister's eyes, the play of colour against her fair skin, the serene landscape beyond that framed her. It was all perfect. It was the entire reason he had come to Andromeda. He hadn't even realised it when he set foot on the Hyperion, yet here it was. He didn't say anything, what could he say? He just walked towards her slowly, greedily cherishing her with his eyes. He never wanted to forget this moment. She cocked a confused eyebrow at him for fraction of second, and then he saw that she too understood.

They moved together, meeting in the middle amid a dancing rainbow, a mini galaxy just for the two of them. They reached out and embraced each other close. It was chaste yet passionate at the same time. Scott put every forbidden feeling he held for his twin sister into that hug and Sara responded. When they finally separated, Sara anchored her large blue eyes to Scott's. What words could ever follow that moment?

"A month's worth of drinks?" Sara smirked.

"A month's worth of drinks." Scott nodded. "Cheers."

He took off, darting for the opening that led higher still.

"Hey! You jerk!" His sister's annoyed growl reached him from behind but Scott paid no mind.

The twins raced higher and higher up the mountain. Scott's breathing became heavier and more laboured as the air grew thinner and less bountiful. A break in the rocks ahead led to open sky and the twins followed it. Sara made up some ground, her slighter form made her just a bit more nimble and able to scramble up the rocks more quickly. Neck and neck, they both leaped for the top.

Clambering out into the frigid air, Sara and Scott gazed about. They'd reached the summit, the beautiful valley strewn out before them on one side. A low cloud covered some of the landscape beyond with a haze. The orange star in the sky was beginning to set as it crept towards the horizon.

"Don't tell me … it was a draw?" Scott shook his head, panting hard.

"That … was just a test." Sara too was out of breath. "Next mountain … will be bigger. We'll … we'll settle it then."

Scott nodded lamely, unwilling to argue. Then he turned to face the sunset. "Gorgeous view."

"Yeah."

Sara moved in front of her brother and pointed one of his hands off into the distance. His other arm naturally wrapped around her toned stomach.

"You see that ridge over there, the one overlooking the river?" She asked.

"Hm-hm?"

"I think, that's where we'll build our house." She smiled warmly, resting her head on his shoulder. "And we'll make it a proper house, not some prefab off the Nexus. It'll be brick and stone, some wood. Like something old back on Earth."

"I'm no architect." Scott murmured, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "And I don't remember you ever liking to build things either."

"We'll hire someone, there's bound to be an Architect or two on the Nexus. And if there isn't … we'll build a log cabin, work our way up."

"One step at a time?"

"One step at a time." Sara promised.

"Sounds like a plan to me."

The sister turned to face her brother. "Good. I want to do this right. I want to make this work."

"It will." Scott swore with a kiss. "We'll make sure of it. That's all I want, to live out here with you, where we can grow old together."

"That sounds an awful lot like a proposal to me."

"Well, I don't have a ring on me," Scott smiled at her then slowly knelt on the mountain peak of a wondrous alien world, a sunset to their side, illuminating the sky in vibrant yellows and oranges. "But if you'll have me, I promise myself to you for the rest of my days. I love you, Sara Ryder."

Sara swallowed thickly, tears gathering in her eyes with a wide, silly smile. "Where were those sorts of words during Mum and Dad's anniversary?" She laughed, her voice thick with emotion.

"I think I saved them just for you." Scott winked at her then took her hand gently. "Well what do you say?"

"Of course it's a yes!" Sara laughed then knelt herself to hug him close. "But I get to design the house."

"Fair enough." Scott laughed as he held her there. They moved back for a moment and both gazed into clear blue eyes, then they sealed all of their promises with a kiss.

"-_Pathfinder? Come in team Ryder_-"

The crackle and jolt of Vetra's voice on the comm coming to life startled both Ryders. Scott sighed and smiled at his sister before replying.

"Scott here, can you repeat that?"

"-_Me and Drack have run into a little trouble, could use a hand_-"

"-_Ha! She could use a hand_-" Drack barked over the turian, the sound of some snarling monster audible over his comm. "-_I'm doing just fine_-" His voice trailed off into a serious of krogan curses.

Vetra's sigh carried over the comm loud and clear.

"-_Drack thought he'd get up close and personal with the local wildlife. Now they fancy having krogan for lunch_-"

Both Ryder's sighed.

"We're on our way." Scott pinged over the comm then honed in on the turian and krogan's location on his omni-tool.

Sara stood. She didn't look upset at the interruption.

"Race you down?" She jerked her head down the mountain, that playful smirk gracing her lips once more.

"Loser gets to drag Drack out of that thing's stomach." Scott chuckled, cracking his neck side to side as he too stood.

"You're on." Sara laughed then without further ado, turned and jumped off the peak. Blue energy surrounded her as she used her biotics to control her descent.

Scott shook his head with a fond smile, and followed suit with a biotic assisted leap of his own.

The twin's dove and jumped down the mountain, racing to their next adventure, just like it used to be back in the Milky Way. Their lithe forms silhouetted in the fading light of an alien star.


	2. When We First

**When We First**

"Oh my_ God_." Sara moaned, her eyes closed and face relaxed into purest bliss. "It feels like forever since … since … _wow_."

"That good, huh?" Scott murmured, taking in the sight that was his sister indulging in her own form of ecstasy.

"Better." Sara smirked with a self-satisfied sigh. "Seriously, I can't even remember how long it's been."

"Five or six hundred years." Cora inputted from the side with a roll of her eyes. This display of Sara's was clearly not amusing the biotic. "I keep forgetting exactly how long."

"At least six, if all the vids are anything to go by." Liam said. He turned to Sara with a knowing smile, "I know exactly what you mean though. My first was just as good."

"I just wish I could rewind and do it again. You know, the first time is just so much more powerful, more intense." Sara leaned back, her ponytail hung up on the cushion behind her as she slid down a little. The female Ryder was content and comfortable.

"Sure, we'll just jump back in cryo for another few hundred years. Wake up in the future and everything will be brand new again. What could go wrong?" Scott laughed.

"It'd totally be worth it." Sara held up the bottle of cold coppery liquid in her hands with absolute reverence. "This, _this_, is why I came to Andromeda."

"So … you didn't come all this way for the adventure, the new sights, new species or any of that. You came all the way to Andromeda for _beer_?" Cora's eyebrow was raised in a pique of disbelief.

Though he didn't entirely disagree with Cora, Scott still thought that it was a fairly strange thing to say in a bar. The four humans were clustered round a table in one of the many new bars set up on Meridian. This one was called Landfall. At least, he was pretty sure it was. They'd been in more than a few by this point. Ever since the defeat of the Archon and the discovery of Meridian, anyone who was anyone wanted to see or be seen with the heroes of the Initiative. Which also meant that businesses the galaxy over were fighting for their patronage. Scott and some of his crew had naturally decided to take advantage and try every drink they could find. Vetra, Drack, PeeBee and the rest had decided to try a different bar that night, so it was just the human squad in Landfall.

"Have you tried some of this?" Sara held up the bottle to show Cora, almost like it was a holy child, or a relic from a bygone age.

"Yes, it's the same crap they serve everywhere. I'm pretty sure it came to Andromeda with us."

Sara was affronted. "Don't listen to her, baby." She cradled the bottle protectively before taking another swig.

Cora heaved a heavy sigh. "I'm gonna call it a night." She made to get up. "Remember, we're flying tomorrow. Try not to get too hung over you two."

"Which two?" Liam raised a confused eyebrow. "There's three of us."

"I'll give you a clue, I mean the troublemakers with the same name and birthday." The blonde levelled a smirk at the twins.

Scott and Sara merely smiled sweetly back and gave her identical salutes.

"It's almost creepy how alike you two are sometimes." Cora said.

"Well, we _are _twins." Scott and Sara supplied at the exact same time, in the exact same tone of voice. They looked at each other with narrowed brows, accusing the other of copying.

Liam looked perturbed.

"You guys planned that, right?" The former cop asked a little anxiously.

"No, not at all." Again, in unison.

Cora and Liam stared warily at the twins for long moment.

"Goodnight." Cora said simply, turning to leave.

"Yeah, no- I think I'll get some shut eye as well." Liam hurried to make his exit along with the biotic.

The twins Ryder merely gazed after them both with identical confused expressions. When Liam and Cora had fully fled the bar, Scott and Sara both burst out laughing.

"I can't believe that still works." Sara chuckled, rubbing at the tears in her eyes.

"How long did we spend practicing that as kids again?"

"Hell if I know." Sara took another swig of precious beer. "Totally worth it though."

"Definitely." Scott smirked, leaning back in his seat. It was awfully relaxing here.

"Hey." Sara's voice brought Scott's gaze back to her. She had a mischievous smile on her lips. "Doesn't this remind you of the old times?"

"Hmm?"

"Don't you see it?" Sara jerked her head towards the bar.

Scott dutifully looked over. They'd been in plenty of bars across both Andromeda and the Milky Way. Most of them were hardly noteworthy. At some point, most of them blended into one generic memory. Then, something snagged at his attention. The shape and layout of the bar, the way the pale light cast its glow on the patrons as they mingled about. It suddenly struck a very familiar chord in Scott.

"You mean when we first …" Scott chewed his lip thoughtfully.

Sara nodded with a smirk. "It's almost just like that night. Feels like an age ago now, doesn't it? And don't you start with that 'it was six hundred years ago' stuff, that's getting old."

"We never did find out what that green stuff was, did we?" Scott narrowed his brows in thought.

"Damn, we didn't. Let's hop on back to the Milky Way to find out." Sara chuckled. "You never know, that asari bartender might still be alive."

"Hey, remember that other asari, the touchy one? God, she was a bitch. We really should have thanked her."

"What, you think she was the reason we got together?" Sara levelled a disbelieving stare at her brother. "Cause I assure you, we'd have managed it on our own sooner or later." Sara's gaze travelled up and down Scott's body leisurely. "If you hadn't made a move at some point, I sure would have. I can guarantee you that."

Scott smirked, relishing his sister's gaze. "Well, maybe she was a trigger of sorts."

"Maybe. Who'd have thought back then that we'd still be at it after all this time?"

"Come on, we both knew back then that it'd be forever. And '_at it'_? You make it sound like we were a pair of dumb kids. Like, we were fooling around so much just because we didn't know what else to do with ourselves." Scott laughed. He received a sharp kick under the table for his trouble.

"Shut up. We were a bit though, weren't we?" Sara lowered her voice as a waitress glided past their table with a tray of drinks. "We probably spent more time in bed than anywhere else at first. God, it was all such a rush back then. I'm surprised no one ever caught on."

Scott leaned over the table with a smirk of his own. "Yeah … It was fun though."

Sara looked like she was about to scowl at him, but then she wore a self-satisfied smirk and gave a lazy nod.

"Still is." She winked at him over her bottle.

"I'll drink to that, Miss Ryder." Scott chuckled, he clinked his bottle against hers unceremoniously.

His's gaze wandered off towards the bar. The figure behind the bar was human, as was most of the patrons, the colours were more varied and muted and the music was different, but it still felt so familiar. It almost felt like they were honouring an old tradition.

xxx

_The Citadel, Milky Way, 600 years before_

"You sure about this?" Scott gazed up at the flashing neon sign with a dubious look. "Why'd you want to go to an asari bar?"

"Why not?" Sara chirped with a smile that was impossible to deny. "I've never been to one before. Besides, asari are so nice. There's less chance of us stumbling into a fight than if we went to a turian or krogan bar or something."

"Are there even any krogan bars on the Citadel? I'm not sure they're allowed. Besides, you've heard of the asari commando's haven't you? Fearless soldiers, terrifying biotic powers, ring any bells?" Scott turned his gaze to his twin.

The pair of them were clad in their Alliance fatigues, fresh off the factory lines. While military fatigues were unflattering by nature, somehow Sara seemed to make hers look great, like she was born to wear it. Scott mentally slapped himself. She was his sister damn it. Brothers shouldn't think like that. Even if his sister was beautiful and funny and smart and sexy and-

_Damn it, Scott! Get a hold of yourself!_

He hated that these thoughts kept hounding him. It had been happening for what felt like forever at this point. It didn't help that they practically spent all their time together. They'd been in the same classes at school, went to the same academy and now they were even in the same unit. He'd seriously considered leaving her at one point, to run away to the fringes of the galaxy to hide his perversions. The idea had died quickly though. He could never do that to Sara. They were practically partners in everything.

So here they were side by side, gazing up at this flashy bar deep in Zakera Ward. It wasn't their first visit to the Citadel, Dad's business had brought them here often before and they had their own small apartment that the twins shared. That was another mine field for the perverted brother, more than once he'd caught himself gazing at Sara for a bit too long when she'd just walked out of the shower or when she'd just woken up or just anything really. He was thankful that they bunked separately while on tour.

They were on their first official shore leave after seeing some real action. The twins had just returned from a short tour defending shipping lanes from pirates. It was simple, hardly glamourous, but at least it was real action at last. They'd both helped pull in three smuggler crews and a runaway convict. The twins had naturally decided to celebrate success in style.

"Yes." Sara drawled, getting bored of her brother's objections. "But they're also all the best diplomats in the galaxy aren't they? And they're all the galaxy's strippers and prostitutes, everyone knows that. You ever see a salarian stripper?"

"You didn't bring me here for asari strippers did you?"

"No you idiot!" Sara smacked Scott on the back of the head. "Come on, don't be such a wuss. Think of it as an adventure!"

Without further ado, Sara had jogged off into the neon clad building. A pair of asari greeters stood by the door. One blew Sara a kiss and a wink as she approached. Sara turned to her brother and gave him two thumbs up, smiling broadly. Then she vanished through the door.

Scott sighed but duly followed. The greeters greeted him as they had Sara, throwing heated looks and winks his way. "Come on in, soldier boy." One murmured. Scott swallowed nervously and quickly moved through. His cheeks reddened even further as he heard their soft chuckles behind him.

Scott set his eyes to scanning for his sister. It was simple enough, in a sea of blue and purple bodies, he quickly found the only other human in the place, even though everyone was clad in the rich blue neon lighting. A handful of salarians and the odd turian were mingling about as well. Scott managed to manoeuvre his way through the throng over towards the bar. He received more than a few odd glances and suspicious stares, humans were clearly a rare sight here, but Scott ignored them, having eyes only for his sister. Sara was already attempting to place an order.

"What do you have that's non-fatal to humans?" Sara asked the bartender as if it was the most natural question in the world.

The asari bartender had the same slim figure of the rest of her species, but her face was angular and hard. She regarded the human woman for a few long moments before pointedly gazing at all the colourful drinks on the wall behind her.

"Pretty much everything. This isn't a turian bar, honey. You don't have to worry too much about incompatible biology's here. Unless you piss me off. Then, who knows."

"Ok …" Sara's lips turned up a little awkwardly. "Any recommendations?"

The asari gave Sara another hard look. Then, she turned her gaze to Scott. Scott swallowed nervously. He felt like this woman could see through his very soul. He didn't know any asari personally, but he was pretty sure that they all couldn't do that. Then, the bartender moved her gaze away and moved up the bar to grab a bottle of green liquid. It seemed to shimmer and glisten in the bottle.

"Here." The asari duly filled two glasses with green. "Try this one, love birds."

Scott's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

Sara laughed more than a little awkwardly. "Well, actually, we're not-"

"Sure, sure." The asari winked with a salacious grin. "I won't tell anyone, honey."

Sara opened her mouth to say something more, then she clearly thought better of it. "How much?" she said instead.

"Hundred credits." The asari didn't miss a beat.

They paid for the drinks without complaint – it wasn't a regular expense and they promised not to worry about the cost of a little on shore celebration – then the asari left them to it.

"What was that about?" Scott chuckled.

"No idea." Sara's cheeks were slightly flustered. She turned an accusing glare at her brother. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"You seemed to have it under control. But then, you didn't try hard to correct her either." Scott smirked.

Sara opened and shut her mouth several times. "I _tried_." She growled finally.

Scott chuckled. His sister was so cute when she was flustered.

"Here." She thrust one glass of shimmering green liquid towards him. "Try this."

"Any idea what this is?" Scott gave the drink an experimental sniff. It was sweet but definitely alien. The drink rippled and danced as he jostled it in hand, like smoke sealed in a jar.

"Nope, just asked for something non-fatal to humans. I'm hoping that's the case." Sara smiled.

"Non-fatal is a good way to start." Scott agreed, raising his glass to hers. "Cheers."

"Cheers."

They chinked glass and took the plunge together. Scott was pleasantly surprised, the drink was seemingly not too dissimilar from a human made liqueur, though it tasted not quite like anything Scott had ever tried before.

"Not bad." He murmured appreciatively.

"I know. We should come here more often."

"Make it a tradition?"

"Why not?" Sara smiled. It was such a pretty smile. "Every shore leave we get, we come here, have a glass of … green."

"I like the sound of that." He took another swig. _That is good_.

They spent a while there, just chatting and laughing and having drinks in the vibrant blue light of the place. The warm conversation and laughter from the other patrons wafted over them like a cosy blanket. It really was a nice place, Scott thought. They soon ventured towards more familiar looking beers. Every time they ordered another round, the same asari bartender came back with a smirk on her lips and a twinkle in her eyes.

Scott found it amusing.

Sara seemed to get flustered each time it happened.

Scott found that amusing too.

Sara punched him in the ribs.

Scott smiled back fondly as he rubbed his chest.

At some point, Sara got up to visit the ladies room.

Scott turned away from the bar to gaze out over the place. It was a nice establishment, cleaner and fancier than most bars he frequented. That seemed to be the way with the asari though, they were the dominant species in the galaxy after all, and they certainly acted like it. His gaze drifted over a pair of asari standing over to the side of the room. His eyes made contact with one of them. Though a calm blue, the asari's eyes were distinctly burning.

_Oh no, _Scott swallowed nervously.

As if on cue, the asari left her companion's side and sauntered over towards him, putting more sway into her hips than Scott thought was necessary. The slinky white fabric that hugged her body seemed to highlight a different part of her anatomy with every step. She was tall and leggy and very attractive. He tried desperately to avoid further eye contact with her until she was right up to him, in the same spot Sara had stood minutes before.

"Hi there, soldier boy." She smiled prettily.

"Err- Hi." He murmured out with a cough, his voice suddenly hoarse.

"Haven't seen you around here before, handsome." She leaned against the bar with exaggerated care.

"First time." Scott hoped his smile wasn't encouraging. "I … I'm on shore leave, won't be here long."

"Oh, that's a pity." She purred. "I bet you have all kinds of adventures out there, don't you, soldier boy?"

"Well, not really." Scott tried to busy himself in his drink with a nervous chuckle. "Mostly watching … trade routes, nothing much to talk about really."

"Well, that is a shame." The asari leaned in closer. A strong smell of perfume hit Scott like a wall. "I like the sound of a little … _danger_." She punctuated the word with a firm blue hand sliding up the inside of his thigh.

_Shit_, Scott thought.

xxx

Sara finished washing her hands and brushed her hair out of her face. The strong blue and white aesthetic of the bar even extended to the bathroom. Sara idly wondered if the asari got tired of all the blue everywhere. It would be like a human bar having everything purely in shades of white, brown or black. She smirked to herself at the thought and made to leave. She'd been in far worse places, so she wasn't complaining.

A couple of asari wandered in past her. Wandered in was perhaps the wrong word. The taller one had a hand down the other's pants and the two of them stumbled into a stall, completely absorbed in each other. They didn't even seem to notice the human. Sara quickly left before learning what sorts of sounds aroused asari made.

It made her mind drift back to the assumption of the bartender though. The asari had thought Sara and Scott were a couple. It had shocked Sara, but at the same time, there was something that made her smile at the thought. A traitorous part of her mind wondered at the idea of her and her twin … _together_. It was a thought that had crossed Sara's mind before, more than once if she was being honest. No matter how many times she quashed it, it always came back to her. It was strange but it also wasn't, which made as much sense to Sera as the mass effect, and she certainly wasn't a physicist.

Whatever the case, Sara couldn't imagine her life without Scott. They'd rarely been separated since birth. He was always there for her, whenever she needed him, no matter what the issue was. He'd been her shoulder to cry on when she was having a rough time, and he was always the first to make her smile again. Also, he was incredibly handsome, he was smart, he was strong, he was-

_No! Naughty! Bad Sara! Bad!_ She cursed herself and her perverted mind.

Sara sighed and made to re-join the object of her depraved affections at the bar. She smiled when she saw him there, the sole pale skinned, brown haired human among a multitude of blue asari. _A crowd? A sea? A murder?_ Whatever the correct term, there were a lot of them.

Sara paused with a furrowed brow as she noticed that one asari was pressed right up to Scott. Definitely far too close for Sara's liking. Something angry and possessive bubbled up in the female Ryder. The asari was whispering things right into her brother's ear. Scott at least had an uncomfortable expression and was doing an admirable job of trying to get away by sinking through the bar top. Then Sara saw it. A blue hand pressed high up Scott's thigh, only kept away from anything more personal by Scott's strategically placed bottle.

Something snapped in Sara.

She marched right up to the asari. "_Excuse me_." Sara growled as she pulled the blue skinned woman around by the shoulder.

The asari spun, surprised, but then quickly drew herself to her full height and glowered over Sara, a full head taller. The patrons nearest to them froze as they sensed the confrontation. Scott had his hands held up, calling for peace.

"I don't think he appreciates your groping, bitch!" Sara snarled.

The asari laughed, more of a scoff. She looked Sara in her baggy fatigues up and down.

"Is that so? I think your man here appreciates the attentions of a _real_ woman."

"Sara, come on, it's not worth it." Scott attempted to soothe his sister's rage before it started. "Let's just go."

The asari turned back to Scott, lips suddenly pouting. "Aww, come on now, soldier boy. Don't let this scruffy little _girl _ruin our night."

"_Girl_?" Sara wheeled the asari round once more. "How about I show you just what this _girl_ is capable of, bitch!"

The blue skinned woman scowled darkly at Sara and raised a hand. Tendrils blue as her skin rose around the asari's arm and snaked around her body. The whole bar now froze, detecting the use of biotics in the confined space.

"You don't want to go toe to toe with me, sweetheart." She smirked with a dangerous look in her eyes. "Why don't you just scurry off, unless you want me to teach you a lesson."

"Bring it on, _sweetheart_." Sara grinned right back and activated her own biotics with a clenched fist. The familiar hum of other worldly energy echoed from deep within. The ends of her hair floated up in waves as the mystical energy curled around her.

The asari's eyes widened slightly in surprise, unlike the blue skinned race, human biotics were rare. She narrowed her gaze in sudden recognition of a real foe.

Suddenly, the asari was thrown down onto the bar. Scott had pulled her arms behind her back and planted the asari face first on the bar top in a flawless disarming manoeuvre. In her surprise, the asari's biotics fled her.

"Don't you fucking _dare_ touch her!" Scott snarled close in the asari's ear.

Sara couldn't help but smirk from the side. It took more than a little effort, but she let her biotics fade away, the tingling in her skin vanished.

"Hey!" The asari bartender barked, both hands planted on the bar aggressively. "No biotics! No fighting! You want to rip each other to shreds, take it outside!"

Scott waited a second, then let the asari go and stepped away smartly, hands up to show peaceful intent. The asari quickly drew herself up to full height, fully aware of the bar's eyes on her. Her blue cheeks seemed deeper in colour. She cast a scolding look at Scott.

"Oh well, you were very boring. Enjoy babysitting your _trade routes,_ or whatever it was." The asari snarled at Scott. She turned and threw a lingering scowl at Sara before stalking off amongst the blue bodies. Many gave her a wide berth.

Sara met her glare evenly and kept her eyes on the troublemaker until the asari had put a good distance between herself and the humans. The bar gradually resumed its original clamour of conversation, content that biotic blows would not be flying.

"You alright?" Scott put an arm on Sara's.

"I'm fine." Sara shrugged him off with a scowl. "What the hell was that, Scott?"

"Hell if I know. She just came up to me and started getting all _touchy_." His face screwed up a little in displeasure.

"You couldn't just tell her to fuck off? Or were you really enjoying it, being touched up by some alien slut?" Sara spat, irritated.

"No! Definitely not!" Scott scowled. "You think I like getting felt up in bars by complete strangers?"

"Well, you weren't putting up much of a fight from where I was standing."

"So I should have just decked her?" Scott demanded, shaking his head a little in disbelief. "Or maybe throw her about with my biotics? That would have helped the situation loads, wouldn't it?" He drawled.

"No! Of course not!" Sara turned away, rubbing her eyes with a grimace. She hated how annoyed she felt all of a sudden. All she had wanted was to have a nice night out with her brother. _Fucking, slutty, asari, whore!_

"Hey." Scott put a hand on Sara's shoulder, turning her back around. "Come on, Sara. Let's not let that bitch ruin our night. You really think I'd have slammed her face into the bar if I was enjoying her company? Besides, she threatened you. I'm not letting anyone hurt my sister."

That calming tone of voice Scott used. The warm smile on his face. His stupid chivalry. There was no way Sara could stay mad at him now.

"Alright, alright … I think I was the one who threatened her first, actually." Sara managed a smile.

Scott chuckled. "Even so, I'm not gonna just stand back when you're in trouble."

"When _I'm_ in trouble? You can't even protect yourself, idiot." Sara sighed. "Seriously, where would you be if I wasn't here to stop you getting molested – or worse – by slutty asari?" She realised that a couple of asari directly behind Scott were giving the twins affronted glares, but Sara didn't care.

Scott chuckled himself and drew Sara into a hug. She let him with a slip of smile. It felt so right to Sara, wrapped in his arms like that.

"Thanks for stepping in. You were pretty badass though." Scott murmured softly in her ear. "I thought you were going to smear her all over the walls."

"Well, I would have, but I had to give you a chance to do something." Sara snickered. "Thanks for stopping things though, you know, before they got out of hand. I probably would have ended up in jail if it actually came to blows, or worse."

Scott leaned back a little, still hugging. "Well, what kind of brother would I be if I didn't save your hide every now and then." He smirked.

"Excuse me?" Sara feigned outrage, still smiling. "I was the one to save _your _hide. I could have just stood by and let her molest you. And I could have taken that _whore_ alone, you know."

Scott chuckled. "Ah yes, Sara Ryder, famed slayer of the asari-sluts. The '_aslutis_'."

They both burst out into silly laughter, certainly drawing more than a few looks of disgust from the regulars now, but neither cared. When the twins calmed down, Scott took to gazing deep into Sara's eyes. Sara found herself gazing back. They were already close in each other's arms. Scott leaned in further. His lips gently bumped into Sara's. Sara's eyes widened. She didn't know what to do. It only lasted for a moment. Then, Scott pulled back quickly.

"Sorry, I … don't know what came over me." Scott said with a ghost of a chuckle. "That green stuff must be stronger than I thought."

Sara didn't buy it.

"No. It's not the green stuff." Sara murmured, her eyes darting between his eyes and lips. The anxious laughter feel from Scott's face and something serious passed between them.

"Here …" Sara grabbed him by the collar and pulled him in again. This time her lips moved while his were still in shock. Then, Scott's moved in synch with hers. They separated again. Brother and sister gazing deep into one another, wordlessly revealing everything. Sara's mind was running a mile a minute, replaying that moment over and over and over again.

"Come on." Sara grabbed Scott's hand and marched out of the bar with him in tow.

Scott followed his sister dutifully, she heard him let out a sigh of relief and a chuckle. Sara's mind was a torrent. _This is really happening!_ She could hardly believe it. It must be just some evil dream. It had to be, nothing else made sense. Even if it was, she was going to see it out to the end.

The asari bartender watched the twins rush out with a knowing smirk as she cleaned glasses.

"Heh, _not _lovers?" The bartender murmured to herself._ "_Sure, not lovers my azure."

xxx

Scott and Sara quickly wound their way through the maze of streets and the throngs of people all the way back to their apartment. Sara didn't say a word to her brother on the trip back, nor did he say a word to her. They both seemed to understand each other perfectly well. Maybe it was just because they were twins or maybe they were both equally perverted.

At last, they came to the door of their apartment. It was nothing special, a small, one floor, two bedroomed place on Zakera Ward they shared whenever they weren't on duty. Its walls were bare and there was little in the way of decoration. Its windows looked out onto a major thoroughfare, but at least the place came with walls insulated from the noise, so the cars rushed by silently. In the simulated night, the speeding lights always reminded Sara of capital ships going to and from dock. It was hardly spectacular compared to some of the places on the Citadel, but it was a place to call home.

Sara pinged her omni-tool to open the door, the familiar soft whirr of the door sliding aside to welcome them home. Once inside, she flicked the lights on and fumbled again with her omni-tool to lock the door behind them. Scott merely stood watching her in the hallway. She could feel his gaze raking over her body. He was slightly out of breath, whether from the jog back or the emotional adrenaline that seemed to affect them both, Sara couldn't say.

The door finally locked with a chime. The world outside was shut away, there was no noise from the streets beyond. They may as well have been on another planet, just the two of them, brother and sister. They stood before each other, savouring each other with their eyes. They stood stock still for what felt like an age, unsure of how or whether to proceed. Every forbidden thought and feeling was ready to burst free from the seams.

Sara licked her parched lips.

Scott gulped and took a breath.

Then, they lunged together. They kissed and pulled and clawed at each other. Scott and Sara finally revealed all their guilty desires to the other. They stumbled from the hallway into Sara's bedroom, dragging and pulling their clothes off haphazardly. Scott reached down and grabbed Sara by the rear, lifting her into his arms. She threw her arms around his neck with a chuckle. Everything they did felt natural, like this was meant to happen, like they were meant to be.

Sara knew this was madness, they both did. Once it happened, they couldn't take it back. They couldn't just pull out, call it quits and go their separate ways. They were twins, bound by blood and birth, together forever, no matter the risks and no matter the costs.

Despite the danger and the wrongness of it, Sara found herself chuckling.

"What?" Scott managed through desperate kisses.

"This is it, isn't it?" Sara panted with a silly smile as she was thrown onto the bed. She widened her eyes to take in the delicious view of her brother stripping his shirt off. His toned torso was delightful, she wanted nothing more than to touch and kiss every inch of him. "We're really doing this."

Scott smirked as he swooped down on her, pulling her pants free, his fingers caressing her lean legs. "I've wanted you for years."

"I've wanted you more, for longer." Sara couldn't help but snicker at the thought. In all the rush of pleasure, guilt, desire and shame – humour rang out high above it all.

"Oh yeah? What makes you say that?"

"I'm older, remember? Five minutes!" She laughed into her arm. The last thing she wanted was for this to dissolve into a giggling mess, but she just couldn't help herself.

"Shut up." Scott chuckled. Then, he ducked his head and dragged her underwear off with his teeth.

"Make me, _brother_." Saying his fraternal title like that, in this situation, it was wrong but oh so right. Sara was giddy from it. She saw it had the same effect in Scott.

"This is wrong." Scott sighed, but he showed no signs of stopping or even slowing down. "We really shouldn't."

"But we _are_." Sara leaned up and cupped his cheeks as she pulled him into a long kiss. "I want this. I want you, _brother_."

"God, I love how you say that." Scott's smile was warm and silly and all Sara ever needed.

"Then listen close." Sara smirked evilly. "Shut up and _take me, brother_."

Scott shut his eyes with a hiss through his chuckle. "Oh, _yes,_ _sister_."

Sara smiled. There were no more words left to say. She pulled Scott down into another heady kiss and their fumbling and touching became ever more heated. They were soon both rid of clothes entirely, sprawled across the sheets with limbs intertwined.

Scott paused a moment, one last deep look, one last chance to call an end to the madness. Sara cupped his face gently and nodded. They kissed. His body met hers. Sara panted deeply, finally feeling her brother in the most intimate of ways. It was everything she had dreamed of and everything she had been ashamed to want.

Sara quickly banished all thoughts of shame or madness. This was her night, this was _their_ night. Every notion of wrongness fell by the wayside, completely outmatched by the feeling of Scott inside her and his hands and lips on her body.

The pleasure lasted all night.

xxx

Scott woke slowly, his mind content with wonderful yet forbidden dreams. His eyes adjusted quickly to the simulated sunlight of the Citadel, the morning rush hour passed by outside without a sound. It was calm and peaceful. Yet it was slightly off. This wasn't his room. He wasn't supposed to sleep in this bed. Scott looked to his side and saw it empty. The sheets next to him lay haphazardly.

Scott sat up with a sigh and stretched himself awake. He heard the soft patter of water running and the quiet humming to a tune from beyond the door. It sounded like something from Fleet and Flotilla. His lips curled into a smirk as he got up, leaving the sheets strewn on the bed. Scott padded his way over to the bathroom and opened the door. As expected, Sara was washing in the shower, her modesty only barely protected by the band of frosted glass that separated the twins. Scott simply stood there, leaning against the doorframe for a moment.

Sara turned his way. She smiled so wonderfully when she recognised him. Her eyes travelled down his bare body with an appreciative smirk. She raised a hand above the frosted glass and beckoned with a finger and a waggle of her eyebrows.

Scott needed no further encouragement.

The male Ryder strolled into the shower. Brother and sister stood stark naked, face to face in the hot stream of water.

"Hey." Scott smiled warmly.

"Hey." Sara smiled back.

Sara held out a sponge expectantly. Scott took it. Sara turned away with a pointed glance down her back.

Scott chuckled.

"So," Scott began as he set to scrubbing his sister's back with exaggerated care, "We're really doing this."

Sara hummed something to herself, she pulled her fingers through her soaked locks. "Yeah … I guess we are." Sara smiled. "Who'd have thought?"

"Not me." Scott shook his head a little in disbelief. "I didn't dare ho- think it might happen." He felt himself blushing intently as he spoke. It must have just been the heat of the water.

"Oh, you _hoped_ for this, did you?" Sara turned with a smirk as she reached round to poke Scott's side. "Perverted little brother, aren't you?"

"Shut up." Scott sighed, shoving her back to face away from him. His cheeks would never be pale again now.

Sara merely laughed at his discomfort and turned again. When she saw that Scott didn't smile back she sighed and took his hand in hers, stopping his cleaning. She reached up with her other hand to cup his cheek as she kissed him gently on the cheek.

"You know … I hoped for this too." Sara murmured, soft and serious with a smile. "Don't be ashamed of that, Scott."

Scott swallowed heavily. He hadn't realised how much he needed to hear that. He took to washing her body and arms, almost as if to distract himself. That's what he told himself anyhow. He found himself entranced by cleaning her body. "You … you said, last night- you said that you wanted _this,_ for longer than me. How long, exactly?" His voice was so quiet it was almost lost to the sound of the water.

Sara hummed in her throat, thinking it over. She occupied her hands by cleaning his body, her eyes down to his chest and lower still. "I don't know really. It wasn't like there was a day when I just thought to myself 'You know, I'd really love to have sex with my twin brother, that'd be pretty neat'." She chuckled. "Somehow, I just started feeling … differently about you. I can't say how or when really. It's been a while, I know that much."

"Yeah, that was pretty much the same for me too." Scott sighed, relieved. "Glad to know I'm not the only one. You know … for the longest time I thought I was going crazy. I … I've been feeling things for you for years now. I thought I was broken or just- just _wrong, _or that I-"

"Stop it." Sara cut him off. Her big blue eyes were intense. "Don't drag yourself down like that, just- _Don't_. Sure, we're not conventional, not even legal in most places, but I don't care. This-"

Sara put her hand on Scott's chest. It was so much more heated than the water that cascaded off the two of them.

"_Us_, feels right to me. I want to be with you, Scott Ryder. If that's wrong, then fine. Let's be wrong together."

Sara pulled him into another kiss, a desperate kiss that somehow said everything that would ever be needed to say between them.

"I love you Scott – More than a brother, more than a friend – I. _Love._ You." Sara finished passionately when they parted, eyes moist more from emotion than from the shower.

Scott opened his mouth several times before he found his words.

"Damn, I really wish I had something just as good to say to you right now." Scott chuckled.

"Ha! Then I win!" Sara swung her fists up in victory. Her smile was so bright and beautiful and everything to Scott.

Scott laughed. "Yep, I guess so … I love you too, Sara Ryder."

"You better." Sara smirked and swooped her arms around his neck as she leaned in for the kiss.

Scott chuckled, happily obliging her. His hands travelled down her body to her rear. He lifted her into his arms and held her almost reverently. His precious sister.

The twins spent much of the day like that, wrapped up in each other, secluded from the world in that small apartment. They made the most of the time they had. They both knew they couldn't be the same outside those walls, but they didn't care. Right then and there, in their own little space, they could be who they truly were. It was perfect for both of them, in each other's arms. All the while the Citadel rushed about all around them, completely unaware of the twins and the feelings they shared for each other.


	3. I Need You With Me

**I Need You With Me**

"We're coming in for our approach now, Pathfinder."

Kallo's voice pinged in Scott's ear. The familiar faint whirring of the Tempest's engines settled down as Kallo made his descent.

"This planet has pockets of some sort of unknown miasma, very likely to be toxic." The voice of Suvi Anwar, the Tempest's Science Officer, chimed in over the comm. "The pockets aren't everywhere but we don't know how far they can spread. You'll want to make certain that you don't suffer any suit breaches."

"Duly noted." Scott muttered unenthusiastically as he checked his helmet was secured for the third time. The Pathfinder turned to see his squad mates doing the very same.

"You always take us on the fun missions, don't you Ryder?" Vetra drawled out sarcastically. "Suvi, any chance this planet is friendly to turian's?"

A short pause before the Science Officer replied.

"You're welcome to take your helmet off and test it out for yourself, but I wouldn't recommend it, Vetra."

"I think I'll pass, thanks."

"I take it Meridian didn't reach this far out, did it?" Sara piped up, passing her helmet back and forth between her hands. "I don't suppose there's one of those remnant vaults somewhere down there for us to find?"

"Afraid not." The Pathfinder smiled slightly.

"If we know this planet's toxic, why are bothering with it anyway?" The female Ryder shook her head ruefully. "We're hardly likely to get a settlement going down there are we?"

"Apparently, the angara used to have a settlement here ages ago, and I mean _ages_, before the miasma took hold. Maybe we could find another way to resurrect it, or else find something worth saving."

"Can't imagine why they left." Vetra murmured as she examined the external camera feed of the planet from her omni-tool. Even through the heavy orange tinge of the holographic screen, the surface looked distinctly toxic and unpleasant.

"It's not like the whole planet's toxic, there are a few pockets we can check out safely. Besides, why are we ever out here risking our lives? We're explorers aren't we?" Scott smiled.

"We already know this planet wants to kill us, no reason in hanging around I say." Vetra muttered with a shake of her head.

Before Scott could answer, Suvi beat him too it. "The toxic gas is denser than air, it's only localised to low lying areas. Stay high enough above sea levels and you should be fine. Besides, we could learn more about it by going down and having a look for ourselves."

Sara snorted. "You mean _we_ are going down there." She indicated herself, her brother and Vetra too.

"I'll be following shortly behind, have no fear, Sara."

"Just don't lick any strange rocks this time." Vetra seemed to smirk under her darkened visor.

The intercom remained silent.

"Alright, enough everyone, we'll be touching down soon." The Pathfinder eased with a placating hand. Sara placed her helmet over her head and it locked in with a familiar hiss of air.

In short order, Scott felt the gentle lurch of contact as Kallo set the Tempest down on the planet's surface. The familiar mechanical whir of the boarding ramp greeted his ears as the great hatch opened and sunlight streamed into the loading bay. His visor automatically adjusting to the sudden increase in light, Scott stepped forward and out onto new land.

At a glance, this planet looked just about the same as any other, green grass, blue sky and sea. But the flora was slightly different, unique petal shapes and colour schemes. The birds that hung in the sky had six wings. The calls of animals that hung over the horizon were like nothing Scott had ever heard before. They'd only taken their first few steps onto this new soil, how much more waited to be discovered beyond.

"It never gets old." Scott murmured as he gazed out onto the most foreign of horizons. "We're probably the first people to set foot here in centuries, maybe more."

Sara walked up beside him.

"Yeah, it still hits you, doesn't it?" Sara whispered wistfully as she too looked out in awe, her fingers lightly brushing his teasingly.

"Well, let's not give this planet any more time to kill us than it needs." Vetra sighed. "Let's find this settlement of yours."

"I think we'd better take the Nomad for this one." Scott turned back to the ship.

"Ooh, can I drive?" Sara perked up. Scott could see the hopeful expression through her visor.

Scott gave his sister a long stare.

"No way, I've seen you drive before."

After a short journey across the wildlands – accompanied by much pouting and muttering from the female Ryder in the passenger seat – they made it to the ruins of the angaran settlement. It was like nothing Scott had ever seen before. On Aya, the cities there were all sleek metals and modern architecture, this place was all stone. The styles and features were so foreign that the Pathfinder couldn't even imagine how someone could come up with these designs.

"Amazing," Scott breathed, "I wonder if the angara still have places like this or if they're all abandoned?"

"Makes you sad doesn't it?" Sara murmured, peeking out of the window. "This whole city, just left to rot for God knows how long."

"They probably left when the miasma started, can't blame them really." Scott brought the Nomad to a stop in a square clearing between several buildings. "Alright, let's have a look outside, sensors aren't picking up dangerous levels of contaminants, but best keep your helmets on just to be sure."

"And here I was about to top up my tan." Vetra quipped dryly.

"Can turian's even get tans?"

Vetra seemed to glare at Scott through her darkened visor, he couldn't see it, but he could just feel it.

Leaving the Nomad, the Pathfinder paced around the square. It was easy to imagine this as an ancient angaran marketplace. He could almost see wooden stalls stocked with food, clothes and goods of all kinds. People would have just been milling about their business.

"It really makes you wonder what might have happened to the angara had the kett not come in and ruined everything." Sara was off examining the façade of one of the grander looking buildings. "Hey I think we can get in here." Without further ado, the female Ryder picked her way over the rubble that must have been the front doorway.

"Hold up Sara." Scott jogged off after his sister.

"Is getting into trouble a human thing or a Ryder thing?" Vetra shook her head as she took off after the twins.

"Relax you two." Sara reassured them over comms, when Scott reached the doorway he saw he cautiously poking her way around inside, helmet lamp scanning the ruins. "And I think it's a bit of both, Vetra."

Scott and Vetra eased their way into the building, eager to disturb the stones as little as possible. The party carefully worked their way through the building. It was empty, not even furniture still stood. Whatever this place had been, had long since turned to dust.

"This place gives me the creeps." The turian complained in a low voice.

"You could wait outside if you want." Scott offered, genuine.

"No way, someone's gotta drag you two out of whatever mess you blindly walk into."

Sara chuckled, "That's true, and besides, how could we call her a turian if she just walked away from danger?"

"It's true. They'd revoke my membership card and everything."

"I'm honestly not sure if you're joking or not." Scott levelled a humoured glance at Vetra.

"Neither am I."

The trio came into a grand looking room, a hall of some sort. It was square with a lower level set into the floor. This time, the remnants of stone furniture were easily discernible: a series of tables set in a square going around the room, the centre was empty.

"What was this?" Scott padded forward towards the centre of the room. "A meeting room of some kind?"

"Maybe this was a kind of forum, like the Romans had." Sara went to look about the tables.

"I'm a bit rusty on my history."

Sara's eye roll was easily discernible, even through his visor and hers, "The Roman's had forums like this where they would debate and decide on policy. Think the Alliance Parliament back in the Milky Way, only smaller, probably more effective too." She let out a humoured snort.

As Scott reached the middle of the room, he heard a faint crunch of stone. The noise seemed to echo around the room, he couldn't place its source.

"Did you guys-" Scott was cut off by an almighty crash as the room shook, then the floor swallowed him whole. He heard the startled cry of his sister over the cacophony of an avalanche. Then everything went black.

xxx

"Scott!" Sara cried for her brother. "Scott!" She made to rush towards the edge of the hole that had suddenly swallowed the angaran forum, but two long arms held her back.

"Careful! This place might go any minute." Vetra warned.

"I can't leave him!"

"You can't go diving in either- Hey, wait!"

Sara managed to free herself from the turian's grasp and ran towards the edge. Rocks still tumbled over the side and echoed down below. Even with her helmet lamp on full power, she couldn't judge where the bottom was, the air was filled with so much disturbed dust.

"Scott!" She screamed again.

No reply.

"See him?" Vetra called over from the back of the room, still reluctant to trust her weight to the ancient, decaying floor.

"Nothing."

Sara was panting hard. She couldn't remember feeling so terrified.

"I've gotta go after him."

Vetra made no reply, whether she agreed or disagreed but wouldn't say, Sara couldn't tell.

With fear rising every moment she hesitated, Sara took a deep breath and jumped. She used her jump jets to slow her momentum, but still she met a solid surface with a crash and was sent sprawling over uneven ground. Pain throbbed in her body, but she paid it no mind. Picking her gaze up, her lamp still had trouble piercing though the air. At first she thought it was just the dust again. Then she noticed sickly tendrils of vapour lazily drifting in and out of her torch light.

"See anything?" Vetra's call from above sounded far away.

"Gas! There's gas down here!"

Vetra swore in the turian tongue. "What about Scott?"

Sara ducked her head low, hoping to see him lying somewhere. Hopefully he'd just been knocked unconscious and he'd wake up and they'd all get out of there without a scratch.

"Nothing yet." Sara bit her lip hard. She gingerly wandered forward, unwilling to trust ancient angaran stonework anymore than she had to.

Suddenly, a burst of static over the comm.

"Scott?" The female Ryder asked frantically into her helmet mic. "Scott!"

Nothing but more static.

Growing more and more worried, Sara stepped forward with more urgency. Her heart threatened to break free from her chest. Then, she heard the faint sound of scuffing, like someone rolling around. She honed in on the noise and found him. The relief she felt was short lived. She rushed over to her brother as he thrashed about on the cavern floor.

"Scott! Scott! It's ok, I'm here." She soothed with panic underpinning her voice as she reached him. Her eyes widened as she saw he helmet had been cracked open. The lamp had been completely crushed. A large crack ran straight down his visor, top to bottom. A good inch of it had broken away completely and was leaking in the toxic air.

Panting hard, Sara worked a blaze on her omni-tool. Trying to hold her brother still, she aimed the interface over his visor. Orange beams shot out and slowly worked up and down his face, trying to replace broken glass. With a small breach, it was normally a matter of seconds, but with the amount of glass Scott's helmet was missing, it was an agonising wait.

"Just hold on." Sara assured herself as much as Scott, "Nearly done, we'll get you out of here. I promise."

She belatedly realised his face had turned an angry red colour. He was sweating hard and panting uncontrollably, unable to form words. Even now, the colour was beginning to fade from his bloodshot eyes.

Sara swallowed thickly. "You'll be fine. We'll be fine. Remember our promise? Remember the house we're gonna build?"

Scott managed a whisper of a smile, he nodded through his shaking.

"Well, we're still gonna do that, all of it, but you've gotta be with me. I _need_ you with me. I can't do it without you." It took all her willpower to keep herself from bursting into tears right then and there. "Promise me." She demanded.

The male Ryder angled his face up and, with what was clearly enormous effort, he mouthed 'promise' though his gasping.

"Good. Don't talk. Don't talk. It'll be ok." Sara babbled shakenly.

After what felt like an eternity, the omni-tool finally did its job. The breach in Scott's helmet was sealed as though it were never there to begin with. Still though, Scott's condition did not abate even as his suit's systems cycled the toxins out of his air supply.

Sara looked back to her omni-tool and applied a heavy dose of omni-gel to her brother. She wasn't sure how much good it would do against the airborne toxins, but it was better than nothing. Scott's red eyes were falling and he seemed to be struggling just to stay conscious.

"Scott!" Sara shook her brother hard. "Stay with me, don't go to sleep!"

It was no use. His fell into unconsciousness.

Sara swore.

She quickly scanned the cavern around her, wondering if she should try and find another exit or turn back. Not wanting to risk taking longer than necessary, Sara hauled the Pathfinder into her arms and hurriedly made her way back to the ruins, hoping they were still standing. She was thankful that she and her twin were roughly the same size, and that she had enough muscle of her own to cope with Scott's weight without slowing down too much.

Sara stumbled along until she found the collection of rubble underneath the forum. Sara gazed up the shaft, the dust had mostly settled by now and she could clearly see Vetra peering over the edge, torchlight seeking out the Ryder twins.

"Thank the spirits." The turian muttered. "Think you can get out? I don't have a rope."

Sara didn't answer. She gritted her teeth hard, crouched low, then leapt. She used every last ounce of force her jump jets could offer her. They gave out agonisingly close to the top, she lost momentum quickly. She wasn't going to make it. Then, Vetra was there. She reached a long arm down and managed to hook a hand around a panel of Sara's suit. For a precarious moment, the humans swung there as Vetra struggled with the weight. The turian threw her other arm in to share the load. Then, she growled fiercely as she slowly brought the Ryders to safety.

"Th- Thanks." Sara managed to get out, wide eyed.

"Thank later. Run now!" Vetra quickly scrambled to her feet.

The rumble and groaning of rocks working against each other suddenly greeted Sara's ears.

Not waiting to be told twice, Sara quickly adjusted her grip on her brother and pelted for the exit, hot on the turian's heels.

The rumble turned into a cacophony as the whole building started to collapse around them. Sara ran faster than she could have dreamed, heart running along with her at a dangerous pace. Then, suddenly, daylight! Streaming in through the opening she'd foolishly gone through earlier. Vetra dived for the gap, not waiting to take it steady. She brushed through scraping her armour against the rocks. She jumped back to her feet quickly and turned to the hole, outstretched arms waiting.

"Here! Quick!"

Sara passed her brother through as slowly as she dared. For a horrifying moment, she feared a boulder would shut the gap as he was halfway over and end it all. It didn't happen, and Scott was being dragged clear by Vetra.

The female Ryder started to clamber through, knocking the rocks dangerously as she went. She managed to break clear and scrambled away from the building as the great crashing and crunching sounds from within echoed out ominously, sending shivers through Sara's bones.

"Come on." Sara gasped, going up to take Scott into her arms once more, he was hers to carry. "We need to get back to the ship."

Vetra stared at Scott numbly for a second then nodded with purpose. "I'll drive."

xxx

Sara clung on to Scott for dear life as Vetra raced the Nomad back to the ship. She feared he would evaporate away if she dared to let him go. Sara found herself babbling quiet nonsense, she wasn't sure if it was to reassure her unconscious brother or herself.

They reached the Tempest quickly. Vetra was a demon behind the wheel. She'd called ahead to get ready for their arrival, and Sara was relieved to see Lexi waiting for them as the Nomad skidded to a halt before the Tempest's loading ramp. Sara and Vetra quickly got Scott out of the rover and hauled him over onto the awaiting gurney.

"We need him inside, now!" The asari doctor brooked no argument and pushed Scott up the ramp with Vetra and Sara.

Sara was panting hard, her heart and mind running a blistering pace. Everything they had been through together, everything Scott had lived through without her at his side. He had survived so much and yet now was brought so close to death by some alien gas on an alien world. It wasn't fair, it wasn't right. He couldn't die, not like this.

They barrelled through the Tempest on their way to the sick bay. Vetra and Sara quickly got him onto the waiting bed as Lexi set to work scanning him.

"His body's shutting down." The doctor murmured, voice steady despite Sara's world crashing down around her. "I need to stabilise him before I can work on the toxins."

The door glided open and Suvi jogged in. Sara could see the worried faces of the others gathered outside before the metal panels closed again. Vetra edged out of the room quickly, leaving the doctor's to their work and Sara grasping her brother's hand desperately.

"Suvi, get a sample!" Lexi barked out, not lifting her gaze from her instruments as she prepared to treat the Pathfinder.

The science officer was already grabbing a needle of her own and swiftly slid the point into Scott's arm. She withdrew some blood then took the needle to the machines on the far side of the room. Desperate to do something, anything, Sara grabbed a cotton pad and put pressure on the trivial bleed. Lexi paid Sara no mind as she worked and neither doctor made any effort to move the sister.

"I've got it!" Suvi suddenly called out, relief flooded into Sara. "It's some sort of mold-like infection."

"That makes things simple then." Lexi seemed to let out a breath of relief herself. She smiled as Sara turned to her. "He's going to be fine."

"What? How?" Sara's voice cracked as she looked down at her brother. His skin was still red and angry, his breathing laboured and he was still twitching erratically.

"I've treated more than my fair share of infections in my time. Don't worry, he'll make it through. He's too stubborn not to."

Sara let out a staggered laugh. Her eyes were full of unspent tears. She looked to her brother and squeezed his hand. Lexi and Suvi carried on their work around her.

Sara stayed by Scott's side through all the injections, samples and tests that Lexi could think of, just to make sure. The male Ryder was stripped of his space suit and lay in the med bay of the Tempest in little more than his underwear. A few hours after he'd been brought in on a stretcher, his skin was still that angry red colour that shocked Sara. At least his breathing had stabilised to a steady pace. Yet still he wouldn't wake up.

Eventually, Lexi declared that she done everything she could. Now, all they could do was wait for the treatment to do its work and for the Pathfinder to wake on his own. Sara thanked Lexi and Suvi profusely as they left her alone with her brother.

The sister lifted her brother's hand to her lips as she mopped his brow. Apart from the alarming brightness of his skin, he looked so peaceful.

"Come on Scott." Sara urged him quietly, "Shake it off. Wake up."

He lay there still, breathing deeply in his slumber.

Sara sighed. He was alive at least and stable. She just wished he would wake up so she could see he was well with her own eyes. She was so damn tired, physically and emotionally. She didn't want to leave for sleep. She wanted to be right there by his side when he woke. Still, she needed to rest her eyes, just for a moment at least.

xxx

Sara woke with a start. Something forced to her to. The sister threw her gaze around frantically. Her brother was still lying asleep in the sickbay, exactly where she left him. His skin had calmed down dramatically though. Now he merely looked paler than he normally was. She wiped her eyes groggily, she had no idea how long she'd slept for.

A weak murmur graced her ears and she opened her eyes wide as Scott slowly moved into consciousness.

"Scott!" Sara practically threw herself at her brother. He grunted in pain as she landed on him, hugging him close.

"What … Sara? What's going on?" He sounded groggy, confused.

"Don't you remember? You fell down a hole. You were poisoned, by the gas on that planet … Ring any bells?"

"Sort of. My head's feels like I've gone ten rounds with a krogan." He groaned, rubbing at his forehead softly.

"It was only seven actually." Sara laughed, relieved that Scott seemed to be a bit more like himself again. "Do you really not remember what happened?"

"It's a bit hazy, I think … it's slowly coming back." His brow furrowed in deep thought, "We were in a ruin, a forum?"

"I'm glad you remember my lectures at least." Sara kissed his hand again, hiding her blush behind it. She was almost scared he'd fade away if she let him go.

"Then I … fell. You found me." He turned his gaze to her. Blue eyes warmed comfortingly, he grasped her hands with his steadily. "I made you a promise. The house we're gonna build."

"The one on Kannalar?" Her eyes were sparkling uncertainly.

"That's the one. We'll get there one day, Sara." Scott sat up and hugged her close once more. "One day soon, I promise you that."

"Then you have to stop getting yourself hurt." She growled in his ear. "I mean, seriously, you survive the Archon, then almost get taken out by some mouldy old ruin?"

Scott laughed clear, she didn't realise how much she needed to hear that sound. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I put you through all of that. I-"

"Shut up." Sara ordered, smile firmly plastered to her face. "Shut up and kiss me before Lexi comes back."

Scott laughed again and happily obliged. His warm embrace made all the tension and hurt Sara was feeling just fade away. She wanted that embrace to last forever, she felt so relieved and comforted in his arms.

The hiss of the door opening grated on their ears. They broke away quickly. The asari doctor walked in, seemingly none the wiser, face burrowed in her omni-tool as the twins turned her way.

"You're awake." Lexi smiled as she looked up at Scott. "You need to look after yourself more, Pathfinder."

"Why would I do that, when I have you all to watch my back for me?" Scott joked easily.

Sara punched him lightly in the shoulder. "Arse." She chided with a scowling smile. She stood from his bedside and made to leave the sickbay. "I need some proper sleep. Try not to die before I wake up will you?"

"Ha, ha." Scott commented dryly, but his eyes were speaking earnest promises still, just for the two of them. Sara left the room with a flicker of a smile to her sigh.

Lexi turned something of a knowing smile to the Pathfinder once the door glided shut. "You know, you've got a great sister there Scott. She didn't leave your side, not for one minute while you were unconscious."

Scott leaned back in his bed, smiling fondly. "Yeah, she's the best."

xxx

The door closed behind Sara with a faint hiss, blocking out the quiet conversation between Pathfinder and Doctor. Sara rubbed at her eyes. Fatigue and pent up emotion lingered there. She wondered if Scott had felt the same way while she was stuck in her coma for months. Sara was glad that she was the one unconscious for all that time, she had no idea how she would have coped.

What if he'd died? What if she'd dragged him all the way back to the Tempest just to watch him shudder out his last breath on the gurney? The thought made her sick to her stomach. What would she do without him? The prospect of exploring all the wonders of this new galaxy lost its lustre without Scott by her side to experience it all with.

Sara shook her head wearily off such thoughts. What an idiot she was. She should have known Scott would never have died, he's far too lucky for that.

"Hey."

The soft, quiet voice jolted through Sara like a gunshot. She whipped her head around to find the tall, angular form of Vetra walking up behind her.

"Sorry." The turian offered with a hint of an awkward smile. "Is Scott alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, he's fine. He's just resting."

"Good, Glad to hear it." Vetra sighed, relieved, her figure visibly relaxed. She ran a hand over the hardened skin of her scalp. "Would never have lived it down if the Pathfinder had died in my care."

Sara merely murmured in agreement.

"What about you?" The turian asked with a cocked head. "That was quite the shock your brother gave you, after all."

"Me? I'm fine. Totally fine." Sara waved away the concern with a smile she didn't feel. "No need to worry about me."

"Sorry, I just- I can tell how much he means to you. It's just … I know what that's like, having to worry about your idiot sibling all the time, then when they get themselves into trouble, you're the one to drag them out of it again."

Sara would have wagered that Vetra didn't know _exactly_ what it was like for her and Scott.

The human murmured absently but said nothing. She rubbed at her mouth in a casual attempt to hide the pain in her face. _Why am I even bothering to hide that?_ It wasn't like the turian was going to see everything Scott and Sara had done, surely?

"But Scott's strong, he's a survivor. He'll outlive us all, I'll bet." Vetra smiled.

"I hope not." Sara found herself chuckling. She leaned back against the bulkhead. "Wow, that sounded wrong. I mean … We had this agreement see, something of a pact really, made it back in the Milky Way. If either one of us dies, we promised we'd both die together. Like, we'd go out in a blaze of glory and gunfire or something. Stupid, I know, but …" She reached up to wipe unshed tears from her eyes.

Sara had no idea why she told Vetra that. It had always been something just between brother and sister. Maybe the panic and the shock of seeing Scott so close to death had shaken her more than she thought. She needed to sleep.

Vetra regarded the female Ryder carefully for a few moments. "That's … That's kind of dark."

"I said it was stupid." Sara smiled weakly.

"No … I get it."

"You do?" The human eyed the turian sceptically.

"You two have been together for, well, pretty much forever, right? You can't imagine your life without him. You feel like … like there'll be no point in carrying on if you lose him? If he's not around, if he's not there, then … how are _you_ even alive? How do you go on living?"

Sara gulped heavily and nodded once.

Vetra nodded softly back, her alien eyes understood. There was something else there as well, but before Sara could put a name to it, it had vanished.

"I get it." The turian moved over and patted Sara on the shoulder gently. "Hold onto him. I know he feels the same way."

A bolt of ice shot down Sara's spine. In that moment, she was convinced that Vetra knew everything, every sordid detail. For a heartbeat, Sara wanted to ask something of the turian, but her senses came to her and she held her tongue.

Vetra moved on and left the human alone in the corridor.

Sara bit at her lip. There was no way Vetra, or any of the others, could know. Wasn't there?


	4. You're Amazing

**You're Amazing**

The Pathfinder stroked his stubble laced chin as he gazed out of the Tempest's bridge. "You can't get anyone, Kallo?"

"Nothing, no sound at all." The Salarian pilot shook his head wearily. "Not even an automated response, most peculiar."

"Have they lost power?"

"From our scans, their eezo core is online." Suvi frowned at her monitor. "They _should_ have the power. It might be some other system failure that's preventing them from reaching us."

"How long ago did they hail us?" Scott leaned against the command console, narrowing his eyes at the ship drifting in space beyond the reinforced glass. The ship was Milky Way in origin, looked to be of human design, but clearly heavily modified. It slowly rotated as it drifted in space aimlessly. Scott noted it was slowly edging closer towards a nearby moon. They couldn't afford to hang around forever to make a decision.

"Twenty three standard minutes ago." Kallo provided succinctly. "Whatever happened to them, it happened pretty fast."

"What's going on?" Scott turned to see his sister stroll onto the bridge.

"We're not sure." He pointed out the drifting ship. "That ship contacted us not long ago, requesting immediate help."

"Which we naturally responded to." Kallo interjected. "Though now, we can't hail anyone. It's as if they just vanished. Most troubling."

Sara frowned like her brother at her side. "A trap, pirates maybe?"

"Can't rule it out." The male Ryder sighed.

"But you're gonna go check it out anyway." It wasn't a question and the sister shook her head with a smile. "Save the day and all."

"You know me so well."

"Too well." Sara winked at him. "Sounds good, let's go then."

"Somehow I knew you wouldn't want to miss out on any of the fun."

"You couldn't stop me if you tried."

The Pathfinder levelled a humoured smile at his sister, then turned back to look at the ship outside. Scott narrowed his gaze again, something was definitely wrong. He just had no idea what.

"Hey," Sara caught his attention again, "We'll get to the bottom of it. We're the heroes of this galaxy, aren't we?" She smiled before turning to leave the bridge, her brother close behind.

xxx

"So why don't we just blow this tin can out of the sky?" Drack groaned to the shuttle at large as it skimmed across the inky black towards the ship. "If we know it's pirates, no great loss as I see it."

"We don't really _know_ anything yet, Drack." Scott called over his shoulder from the cockpit.

"Well, _yeah_, but I was talking about the ship."

The Pathfinder sighed wearily. He turned to his team. The krogan Drack sat with an irritable expression. To his side, PeeBee, the asari was twirling her pistol in her hand with a bored expression on her face. Sara sat across from them both. She'd kept pretty quiet as they made their way into potential danger, examining readouts on her omni-tool with that furrowed brow she deployed when she couldn't get to the bottom of something. It was adorable really.

"Alright, we're walking straight into the unknown here. Who knows what we're gonna find on that ship, so stay alert everyone, don't assume anything."

"So when we find out it _is_ pirates," PeeBee murmured, incredibly blasé in her usual style, "and they spring their trap on us, _and_ we get ejected into the vacuum of space, what then?"

"Hopefully we put a stop to them before any airlocks are opened. Hopefully. If not, feel free to improvise." Scott smiled humourlessly.

"Hmm, you could plug the hole, right Drack? You're big enough for anything." PeeBee smirked.

"Ha, ha." The krogan drawled, slow and humourless.

"Alright, here we go everyone." Scott called out, suddenly in the zone as the shuttle careered up to the lifeless ship and manoeuvred into position to attach.

The hiss of air escaping echoed around the shuttle as the pressures of ship and shuttle matched. The exit hatch opened. The Pathfinder silently nodded to his team, drew his rifle and advanced. The ship's corridor was empty and quiet, like it was just waiting for its owners to come back any minute. An empty cup sat on a nearby crate, still moist with what Scott assumed to be tea or coffee. If they weren't human, Scott had no idea what they might drink instead. Nothing flew at them, no bullet or laser, nor did the airlocks suddenly open. Everything was still.

Scott pulled up the ship's schematics on his omni-tool, "We look to be roughly in the middle of the ship here."

"Two go up, two go down?" Drack rumbled low, his heavy shotgun primed.

"Sounds good, you take PeeBee and head to the rear. Sara and me will clear the fore."

"Ugh, why do I have to go with _old man fragrant _here?" PeeBee complained.

"That's just my natural musk." Drack opined with a grin. "You only get it from a _real_ man."

"So, why's it coming from you?"

Drack laughed heartily.

The Pathfinder sighed. "Alright, shall we keep the chatter to a minimum?"

"Don't get your panties in a twist boss." The krogan turned with a chuckle and took off without another word, his heavy footfalls making the entire deck shake. PeeBee shrugged her shoulders at the twins and traipsed along lightly in his wake.

"Are you sure it's a good idea sending those two off together? Alone?" Sara eyed a sceptical eye at her brother.

"They'll be fine. They can take care of themselves." Though Scott narrowed his gaze a little. "I think."

Sara chuckled before turning to the other door. "Well, let's get going shall we?"

"After you, my lady." Scott bowed and gestured his rifle to the ship beyond.

Sara snorted and shoved him in the chest before taking off at a jog.

The twins swept through the ship with ease. They came across nothing of concern save for the lack of a crew. Sara found the mess hall empty. The seats were pushed slightly out from the tables, as if someone had just vacated them. Plates and glasses stood laden with food and drink. Scott found the armoury and ships manifest, nothing seemed to be out place, apart from the lack of a crew of course.

"This doesn't make any sense." Scott murmured as the twins made their way up to the bridge. "Where did everyone go?"

"There doesn't seem to be any sign of a struggle." Sara kept her voice low. Scott could easily read the tension in her voice. "Maybe they abandoned ship?"

"We would have picked up any escape pods on our scanners."

Sara murmured noncommittedly.

They wordlessly mounted up either side of the door leading to the bridge. Scott nodded once to his sister and opened the door. At the whoosh of the panels opening, Sara rushed in, rifle raised for any threat. Scott followed just behind.

Nothing, the bridge stood empty.

"This is definitely weird." Sara shook her head. She lowered her gun and went up to a console. "No records in the ship's log. It's as if everyone just vanished without a trace."

Scott opened his mouth to speak, but then felt a heavy blow on the back of his head. He staggered forward, his vision blurred.

"Scott!" Sara cried out and raised her rifle.

Scott saw his sister get hit with some kind of beam and she clattered to the floor.

"Damn it! Sara!" Enraged, Scott turned to fire his own weapon.

He heard a sharp buzzing noise, felt it. He suddenly felt disorientated. He struggled to keep his footing and he fell down like his sister had. The Pathfinder tried to angle his head up, to see his attackers, but everything faded to black in an instant.

xxx

Scott groaned as he lolled awake. He opened his slowly, grimacing as pain flooded his senses. His whole body ached like he'd been hit by a train. Light grew then faded erratically, playing havoc with his vision. He tried to rub his sores and test his wounds, but quickly discovered his hands were bound behind his back. His armour and weapons were gone and he found that he was tied to a chair in just his under-armour suit.

"Scott?" An all too familiar voice called out for him from beyond.

"Sara?"

"I'm here, you ok?"

He chuckled then quickly regretted it as he started coughing. "Been better. You?"

"I'm ok, no real damage."

Scott felt much of the tension leave him at that. "Good."

"So," Sara began slowly, "It's pirates right?"

"Definitely pirates." Scott's vision began to clear and he could make out more of the room. Still a little blurry, he saw his sister, tied up to a chair across the room. A solitary light hung from the ceiling, swaying back and forth between them. The room was featureless save for a few pipes and panels that skirted the walls and floor.

"Is it just me, or does this place look like something out of a bad vid?"

"I was just thinking the same." Scott managed a smile. "Hopefully that means we're the heroes and we get to break out soon."

"Hopefully." Sara sounded unconvinced. "Did you get a look at who we're dealing with?"

"No, you?"

"No, they got to me before I even saw anything. Pretty sure they're not krogan though."

"If they were, I'm pretty sure we'd be dead by now." Scott chuckled mirthlessly.

"Hey, remember that time we were on Omega?"

"How could I forget?" The Pathfinder murmured as he pulled against his restraints, no use. "I still have the scars."

"If anyone comes in, we'll do the Omega plan."

"That wasn't much of a plan, Sara."

"It got us out didn't it?" The sister scowled at her brother.

"Barely." Scott sighed, seeing no other way out. "What about that time back on the Citadel?"

"Which one?"

"There was more than one?"

Sara leaned her head back dramatically with a sigh. "_Yes_, there was that one with the gangs in the Lower Wards, then that time we got locked up in the back of some club. Remember? That dodgy bar you swore would be a nice place to _chill_."

"Crap, I forgot that one. The Wards plan then."

Sara shook her head with an irritated expression. "Why don't we just wait and see how it goes when they come in? Choose on the fly."

"Works for me. You ready?" Scott smirked at his sister.

"Always." Sara smirked back.

It didn't take too long for the metal door before them to crack open, revealing an angaran. The twins shared a look as he entered. Were they dealing with the Roekaar? The angaran said nothing as he paced before them for a few long moments, staring at both of them in turn.

"_Humans_." He sneered finally.

Sara sent Scott a look that said 'definitely Roekaar'.

"Can we help you?" Scott smiled ever so sweetly.

An even chuckle, almost forced, not one from real amusement. Then, without warning, the Roekaar swung a fist into Scott's face. Not expecting the punch, Scott took the full blow and saw stars. Bitter iron seeped into his mouth and he nearly blacked out.

"Bastard!" Sara swore darkly. The angaran ignored her.

"Like your kind helps anyone but yourselves." The angaran leaned in close to the Pathfinder, studying him as though he were a disease or a parasite. "Invaders, thieves, all of your kind are _scum_."

"I know some of us can be pretty bad, but my sister and I are quite lovely." Scott smiled back, feeling blood dribble down his chin.

"Ah yes, the _sister_." The angara switched his attention to Sara with a leer that made Scott want to hit him more than he already did. "I've never seen the females of your species before."

"Don't feel too bad," Sara sneered back with a smirk, "It was years before I saw my first female turian."

The angaran replied by grabbing Sara's lower jaw, forcefully pushing her head back at a painful angle. Sara grunted in pain but glared daggers.

"Hey! Let go of her!" Scott fought his restraints all the harder.

The angaran ignored him, continuing to inspect Sara intently.

"So weak and pitiful, even for your pathetic kind."

"Oh yeah?" Sara muttered through her clenched jaw. "How about you let me out of these shackles and we see just how weak I am, tough guy."

Their captor chuckled. He leaned in closer to Sara with an evil glint in his eye. "Oh don't worry, I'll let you out, but I have better plans for you."

Sara tried to recoil under his lecherous gaze, but she couldn't move.

"Don't you dare touch her!" Scott snarled, but he too was helpless.

The angaran ignored him still and moved around behind Sara. He grinned at her visible shudder as he trailed an alien finger along her cheek. He reached down and made to unlock the handcuffs binding her there.

Then, Sara drew on her biotics and threw her head back.

She connected with the angaran with a sickening crunch. He wailed as he stumbled back. Arms free, Sara jumped out her chair, turned and launched herself at him. They struggled. Scott watched on helplessly, praying no one would hear the commotion and come running. The angaran tried to recover from his mistake, but Sara was too fast for him. She quickly got the upper hand and, with a biotic assisted uppercut, knocked him out cold.

"There." She was panting slightly as she stood, smiling. "See? I told you the Omega plan would work."

_You're amazing_, Scott thought.

"You got lucky." Scott said. "At least there was a lot less stabbing and slashing going on this time." He sighed as Sara quickly moved to undo his binds. "I seriously do still have those scars you know."

"I know, they're some of my favourites." She pressed a quick kiss to his cheek as he came free.

"You have favourites out of my scars?"

"Shut up, and help me tie this creep up."

They quickly bound the angaran to the chair. Scott spat blood and gave him quick kick for good measure. Edging their heads out of their prison cell, there were no guards outside, only a blank corridor. They looked to still be on the ship they were investigating before. Whether the ship was in the same place as before was the million credit question.

"Plan of action?" The Pathfinder murmured.

"Find PeeBee and Drack, then get to a shuttle or escape pod?"

"Works for me." Scott smiled, loving the simplicity of his sister's plans. "Let's go."

The twins sneaked around the ship. Bereft of weapons and armour, they had to be careful. They couldn't find any trace of PeeBee or Drack. Scott silently feared they had been captured, or worse. He shook his head at the foolish thought. The Roekaar would need an army just to take out Drack alone, and this ship didn't nearly have enough space for one. Twice they nearly ran into an angaran patrol as they ambled around the ship.

"Where were all these guys before?" Sara whispered, annoyed.

"They must have been hiding, in the ventilation or something?"

"You've been watching too many vids."

"Where else would they be hidden all this time?"

Sara furrowed her brow for a moment. "I don't know! Another ship? Shut up, before they hear you!"

Suddenly they heard heavy thuds, three in quick succession, beyond the nearby door. The twins shared an alarmed look as the sound of gunfire and shouting soon followed. Scott beckoned his sister over to take cove behind the corner with him. The sounds of fighting grew nearer. Then a bang, the door itself shook for a moment, followed by the sound of scraping metal and another thud.

The door opened. Scott kept his head behind cover, fearing the Roekaar. Two sets of pacing feet came right up to the corner, stopping just beyond the Pathfinder's vision.

The sweet sound of a familiar voice graced the Ryder twins' ears.

"Cora to Tempest, the gallery's clear. No sign of either Ryder."

"Cora?" Scott called out, hoping the biotic commando wouldn't mistake him for a foe and smear him all over the walls.

The blonde shot around the corner at his call. Her arm raised back in a fist, bathed in the vibrant blue of an impending biotic doom. Scott's eyes went wide in alarm and he held his hands up in surrender. Cora sighed as she recognised the twins and let her biotics fade away.

"Scott, Sara, you're both safe?" Cora quizzed with a concerned brow. Jaal followed around the corner, the friendly angaran smiled wide to see them both.

"Safer now you're here." Sara sighed as they got to their feet.

"What happened?" Cora angled her head down to get a better look at Scott's bloodied face.

"We were ambushed. Got captured by Roekaar."

"Dammit, we need to regroup with the others and get off this tub." Cora turned her head and began relaying information to the Tempest.

"Others? Who else is here?" Scott raised an eyebrow as he accepted a pistol from Jaal.

"Everyone. We were all searching for you two." The angaran answered.

"What about Drack and PeeBee?"

"They're fine. Shortly after you bordered, this ship jettisoned an escape pod with them both inside before it jumped out of the system. We picked them both up, and Suvi and Kallo managed to track the ship down before the trail went cold."

"They didn't try to capture the others?" Sara chuckled. "Guess we're special, bro."

"Oh they tried." Cora supplied with a smirk before gesturing for them all to follow, "Apparently our krogan friend was too much of a handful. The way PeeBee tells it, he just barrelled straight through their ambush, threatened to kill them all and blow up the ship too. The best they could do was to force them off the ship."

"Damn," Sara whistled, impressed, "I wanna be on his team next time."

Scott scowled at her.

"Alright, I've messaged the others. We're regrouping at the hanger." Cora primed her rifle with a smile that meant business. "Let's get going, shall we?"

The group made their way through the narrow corridors. Cora took the lead and made sure each room was clear before they moved in. The only sounds that greeted them were the occasional pings of terminals and the sliding of doors.

"Keep sharp, everyone." The blonde biotic murmured low as she led the way. Scott and Sara kept close behind with a borrowed pistol each. Jaal covered the rear of their column.

Then, suddenly, the relative silence vanished. The echoing of multiple weapon fire reverberated down the corridor from ahead. A few calls and screams rang out. It was impossible to tell who they belonged to.

"Shall we?" Sara smiled to the party at large, pale blue tendrils of her own biotics beginning to form around her.

"It would be rude to leave without at least saying goodbye to our hosts first." Scott smirked.

"Remember, you don't have armour on, you two." Cora sighed as she checked her rifle with military precision. "Don't go charging in like you normally do."

"Spoilsport." Sara smirked but held back.

On her count, Cora and Jaal surged forwards into the corridor, weapons raised. Scott and Sara followed a moment after. At the end, Cora opened the door. A wave of noise hit them. Streams of laser fire cascaded back and forth across the hanger beyond. The angry shouts of the angaran pirates rang out above the firefight, yet above all of that, the hearty laugh of a krogan.

"Come on! Fight me, you filthy pyjaks!" Drack roared as his shotgun barked across the room. A spray of deep blue blood shot out to splatter the back wall as a body fell and skidded across the floor.

"Drack! We found them!" Cora cried out as she ran into the chaos towards the krogan. "We need to go!"

"Hah! Already? I was just getting started!" The ancient krogan smirked on his scarred lips. Beside Drack, Liam was keeping some of the pirates pinned with sustained fire. The pair were holding position in front of a shuttle. Scott could hear its engine was whirred up and ready to fly.

"Can't go just yet!" Liam swore as a round hit the cover in front of him, just below his eye line. "PeeBee and Vetra are still coming!"

Jaal rolled into cover besides Cora. "Come, Ryders! I'll cover you!" He beckoned the twins over.

Scott chanced a glance out at the carnage. It was a dizzying array of laser fire and smoke.

"Ladies first." Scott smirked at his sister.

"Arse." Sara slapped him on the posterior as she took off. The female Ryder dove for safety behind Jaal's cover as more gunfire sought her out. Scott held his breath every second she was exposed. He only released it when Sara popped her head up and flipped him off.

"Come on, Pathfinder!" Sara called with a grin. "What are you waiting for?"

Scott turned his gaze round to the pirates. All of them were focused on the armed squad. Mostly on Drack. _Ah well, it should be fine._

The Pathfinder jumped up and ran. He felt searing heat fly past his back as a laser rounds sought him out. Halfway there, a sudden flare of heat and pain burst in his leg and his balance abandoned him. He managed to scramble for cover behind some nearby crates in one piece. The firefight was still ringing out loud around him as he examined his calf. An angry burn mark had seared its way through fabric and flesh. He could smell the sickening aroma of cooked skin and muscle above the stench of ozone from the laser fire.

"Scott!" The fearful, angry cry of his sister. "Don't you dare be dead!"

"Wouldn't dream of it!" Scott managed to call back through gritted teeth. He brought his burned leg around forcefully – foot planted on the floor – and leaned his weight onto it, testing it. It gave out instantly, his head falling dangerously close to the edge of his cover. The muscle strength of the limb had abandoned him entirely. Scott swore angrily. He picked himself back up and pressed his back to the meagre cover between him and the Roekaar. He looked up towards the others. There was no way he'd be able to crawl to them without getting shot. He'd be such an easy target.

"Could use a hand here!" The Pathfinder called out to anyone, everyone.

"We need to get to him!"

Jaal's voice reached Scott's ears a heartbeat before a heavy salvo of weapon fire drowned out any reply. A deafening explosion followed, rubble was suddenly thrown up from the holding line of the Tempest's crew. A heavy fog of debris clung to the air. Blinking, Scott followed the faint propulsion trail. A Roekaar stood on the gantry overlooking the fight below, a device that distinctly looked like a rocket launcher hefted on his shoulder.

Scott swore.

"-go! Wait!" The tail end of Cora's cry sprang into the void left by the rocket fire.

Scott snapped his head towards the sound. His eyes instantly locked with the lithe form of his sister, hurdling over the line of crates. She was making a beeline for him. Calls of surprise and warning followed the female Ryder over the room. Hurried covering fire rang out from the defending lines. Scott wanted to shout a warning, to tell her to run for cover, to tell to not be so stupid, to tell her he loved her if he never got another chance, but no words came to his lips. Immediately, fresh laser fire hurled from the Roekaar towards her. Sara galloped on regardless, her beautiful face drawn into a vicious scowl, rapidly illuminated in the vibrant blue of laser rounds.

A new shout, distinctly alien cut the Pathfinder's attention. Scott threw his head back and eyed the Roekaar on the gantry, his rocket launcher already beading in to take aim at Sara.

Time seemed to slow to a standstill. Crying out something intelligible, Scott swung his pistol around and fired wildly at the Roekaar. Each hasty shot missed by miles. The Roekaar paid him no mind. Scott was certain he heard the click of the trigger over the cacophony of battle. The barrel ignited in light and motion. The rocket soared through the air, a thin trail of vapour left in its wake.

Scott whipped his head back to Sara, his eyes wide in horror and a final cry of warning on his lips as he lay helpless.

Sara's eyes darted to the rocket. Immediately, blue tendrils of energy were coalescing around her. With a primal, animal cry, she flung one fist up above her head. The shockwave of the hastily thrown biotic force flew in a wide arc. The bottom curve of the wave hit Scott and forced the air to flee his lungs. His eyes still locked onto Sara, Scott saw the rocket collide with the same wave of biotic energy. The tubular form shifted in the air. For a horrifying moment, Scott was certain it would explode mere feet from his sister's face. Then, it moved. Its course altered and it hurtled up and into the ceiling of the hanger. The explosion rained debris down on the crew of the Tempest and fresh sirens rang out immediately.

Sara carried on running without missing a stride. She hurtled over an upturned crate and slid into cover beside her brother. Scott was still staring at her, awestruck. _God, she is amazing_.

"Easy, I've got you. You ok?" Sara demanded, already checking her brother over for injuries.

"Think so." Scott belatedly remembered the searing pain in his calf. "Just got clipped by a round."

Without any further ado, Sara wrenched his wounded leg aside to get a better look.

"Careful!" Scott protested with a hiss.

"You'll be fine." Sara shook her head slightly with a sigh. She keyed a command into her omni-tool. Familiar orange rays sprang into being as the medi-gel was applied. The cool touch of it was soothing some of the pain away already. "You've had worse before, trust me."

"I won't be running anytime soon I reckon. I'm not risking it." A blast of hot laser hit the top of their cover, sending scraps of shrapnel over their heads. "It was a miracle _you_ got here in one peace. That was stupid, _amazing_, but stupid!"

"I'll take that as a compliment." Sara smirked wide with a wink.

Scott let out a weary chuckle. He couldn't bring himself to argue.

A high pitched whistle and a fresh explosion drew the twins' attention. Another cloud of debris had sprung up between the Ryder's and their crewmates. With all the laser fire and explosions that still suffocated the air, a murky curtain seemed to hang over the battlefield. A moment of quiet as each side waited for the first sign of movement.

Suddenly, Drack burst from the haze. The ancient krogan's roar shook the entire deck as his footfalls sent tremors towards his enemies. The sight almost terrified Scott. Had he not known the krogan was on his side, he might have bolted for the nearest exit, leg wounds be damned. He heard the alarmed shouts of the Roekaar behind him. Laser shots went wild, the pirates shaken by the sight of charging krogan, forgetting the very basics of weapons fire. Drack shot close by the Ryders, his heavy gallop rocking the deck beneath them.

"Come on!" Cora's shout was answered by the battle cry of the crew of the Tempest. As one, they surged forward, weapons firing freely. The biotics formed shields at the front of the charge.

Sara swung one of Scott's arms over her shoulders and hauled him to his feet. "Let's not keep them waiting!" The twins hurried towards the shuttle, ducking behind Cora and the others.

Scott peered over his shoulder towards Drack. The krogan had engaged the Roekaar in melee. He hefted his giant shotgun like a hammer. Three pirates were sent flying from one swing alone. Another Roekaar had his helmet caved in from a head butt. Scott winced.

A sinking feeling took hold of his stomach as the Pathfinder eyed the Roekaar with the rocket launcher, taking aim at the formidable foe beneath him.

"Drack!" Scott cried in warning. The krogan had no chance of hearing him over the chaos and rage of battle.

Before the rocket bearing Roekaar could even get a good aim on the mighty krogan, the pirate took a blast to the side. Roekaar and Pathfinder followed the energy round's path. Vetra was there, at the entry to the gantry. The turian fired a short, controlled salvo into the pirate's upper torso. The last round pierced through the helmet. The Roekaar swung on his feet for a moment, before tumbling over the barrier and into the chaos below.

PeeBee appeared behind Vetra, the asari murmured something to the turian and gave her a slap on the back before vaulting over the barrier. Vetra seemed to roll her eyes beneath her visor before she too jumped onto the hanger deck.

"They're here!" Scott shouted out. Sara grumbled angrily that he'd shouted in her ear. "Sorry."

"Alright, that's everyone, let's go!" Cora waved everyone back.

The crew slowly extradited themselves from the Roekaar's ship and back onto the shuttle. Drack was still heavily engaged in close quarters combat.

"Drack!" Cora practically screamed, angry. "We've got them! Come on!"

"No way! There's still plenty of heads to knock together here!" The krogan snarled with a laugh. He punched a pirate to the floor almost casually. The Roekaar didn't rise.

"Now Drack! Or we're leaving you behind!"

Drack half sighed, half growled. Shot the nearest Roekaar in the chest at point blank before turning back to the shuttle, grumbling. He reluctantly jogged on after the human however. There was barely a half-hearted attempt to stop him. The survivors of the krogan's assault were too weary and terrified to pursue any further. A smattering of laser fire followed him to the shuttle as more of a formality than anything else. The energy blasts cracking harmlessly off the shuttle's shields.

With the krogan finally on board, Liam pulled the shuttle craft into the air and bolted for open space. Scott peered out of the view port towards the pirate ship. Already it was coming back to life. Lights sprang up along its hull like a myriad of insectoid eyes waking.

"We need to get back to the ship, now!" Sara was watching the Roekaar's ship reactivate by his side.

"Relax." PeeBee drawled with a casual wave of her hand. "We left them a little gift before we left."

"PeeBee?" Scott eyed the asari wearily.

"Just wait, and watch." Vetra pulled her helmet off with a whistle as the vacuum broke and she approached the viewport.

The Ryder twins looked at each other, neither seemed particularly reassured. Both turned their gaze back out towards the pirate ship. It spun in its place out in the inky black, turning to give chase. The ship started to loom larger, its position gaining.

"PeeBee?" Sara asked more urgently.

"Any minute-"

Her words were cut off by a flash of light that cut through the inky black void. The pirate ship had been cleaved in two. Blue-white energy crackled out from the split where the ship's eezo core had been sheared in half by the blast. Even though there wasn't a sound from the explosion through the vacuum of space, Scott could practically hear it.

"There, you see? Problem solved." PeeBee smiled sunnily.

xxx

Sara padded into the Pathfinder's room on the Tempest. She was already becoming so familiar with the space, yet each and every time she entered, she had to pause at the sight of the space and stars through the view port that gave a wide panorama of the cosmos. It never ceased to amaze her, no matter what portion of Andromeda lay beyond.

"Hey." Scott picked his head up from the data pad in his hand and smiled at the sight of his sister. He'd been cleaned up and lay in his casual fatigues. He lay on the bed they'd so often shared together.

"Hey." Sara smiled back, walking over to the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Great. Lexi treated my leg with … something. Don't ask me what. There's no pain anymore, but the muscles in my leg still aren't working fully yet. She said I should be back to normal in a week or so."

"Let me have a look." Sara sat on the side of the bed.

"Are you a trained doctor now?" Scott smirked but dutifully obeyed, turning over onto his front.

"Just, call it me being concerned." Sara sighed, not bothering to hide the light blush on her cheeks. She leaned in over his calf. There was no sign of the laser wound now. New skin, likely synthetically made, had grown in its place and looked to be healing nicely. The pale, unblemished patch of new skin clashed a little with the slightly darker, lightly scarred leg of her brother.

Sara sighed and pressed a soft kiss to his leg, tracing her fingertip over the edge of the graft and several scars. "When are you going to stop getting yourself hurt? First that toxic planet, now Roekaar pirates? One of these days you're gonna run out of luck, you know."

It was Scott's turn to sigh. "Dangers part of the job, Sara." He rolled onto his back to look her in the eye. "I'm not trying to get myself injured, but as Pathfinder, it's always a risk. Hell, just coming out here was a risk. It's what we both signed up for."

"I know, I know. It just seems to be happening a lot lately." Sara scowled at him. "You know I've always got your back. I just don't like seeing you get hurt, you know."

Scott smiled warmly and put a hand to her cheek. "I don't enjoy it much either, but I'd much rather I got hurt instead of you."

"That doesn't make me feel any better, you jerk." Sara lightly reprimanded but let a small smile pull at her lips.

"And hey, I've got at least a week off without any action. That's a week without any chance to get injured, right?" Scott offered her his winning smile.

"You mean _I _get a week off from saving your ungrateful arse." Sara snickered, hitting him playfully.

"Hey! My arse is very grateful, you know." Scott laughed. He turned his gaze to her hand still moving over his leg and smiled warmly at a memory. "When you came running through the firefight like that, and deflected that rocket, that … _damn_, that was amazing."

"I aim to please." Sara winked coyly. Then, a smirk took hold as an idea came to mind. "Shouldn't I get a reward at least for saving the famous Pathfinder? I must be due three or four already."

"A reward?" Scott seemed to be trying to keep a smirk of his own down. He was clearly thinking the same thing she was. She could read him like a book. "You want a reward for saving your only brother?"

"Yes." Sara grinned evilly.

Before he could reply, Sara shoved him down flat onto the bed. He fell easily with a chuckle.

"I'm sure I can think of something for you, sister." Scott murmured low and heady.

"Actually, I already have an idea or two." Sara smirked.

She stood from the bed a moment and made short work of removing her trousers and pants, leaving her bare below the waist. The sister could feel her brothers gaze on her and relished it. She kneeled back onto the bed, her legs either side of his prone body. Scott's hands caressed her slender legs and onto her toned waist beneath her shirt, leaving delightful warmth in their wake. She took his hands in hers, interlocking their fingers together intimately. Then, she walked her knees up the bed, swaying her body sensually as she went. Her sapphire eyes never broke contact with Scott's. She stopped moving with her legs planted either side of his head. Sara wiggled her eyebrows as she peered down at him, laying before him the unspoken challenge.

Scott smirked back, and met her challenge, slowly, deliciously, blissfully.

Sara tilted her head back with the first of many sighs. A reward well-earned indeed.


	5. I Don't Regret a Thing

**I Don't Regret a Thing**

The soft hiss of the door opening and closing heralded Sara's arrival. Scott didn't even need to turn from the great expanse of stars to know it was her. He knew those soft footsteps almost as well as he knew his own heartbeat. He closed his eyes with a smile as she wrapped her arms round his torso.

"I thought I'd find you here." She whispered in his ear, a warm smile underneath her words.

"Where else would I be?" Scott turned around in her embrace and held her reverently.

"Hmm, you could be up on the bridge, or in the cargo bay, or the kitchen. It's a decent sized ship, you could have been anywhere."

Scott eyed his sister dubiously as he stroked her cheek. "Why would I be anywhere else but right here, right now, with you?"

Sara's smile grew. Scott could see her trying to hide it by ducking her head and biting her lip. It was such an adorable expression. "Nice answer." She murmured, trying to be nonchalant.

"I do my best." Scott snickered and leaned in for the kiss.

One kiss became many and the twins quickly found themselves tumbling into bed together. It was a dance they both knew well and had rehearsed often before. They didn't even need to say a word to each other. Scott knew exactly what Sara wanted from every minute detail. Every burning little touch, every groan and murmur, every hot and heady kiss built together into a language that only the two of them could understand.

Scott found the forbidden intimacy with his sister so intoxicating. It was a drug he couldn't ever get enough of. An addiction he never wanted to cure himself of. As he caressed Sara's strong yet slender body, he wondered to himself how this feeling could ever possibly be wrong.

"Scott?" Sara's heated pant snapped all other thoughts out of Scott's mind. Her legs were wrapped around his torso as they held each other close and moved in rhythm.

"Yeah?" Scott replied, just as headily and as quietly as his sister.

"I love you." Sara breathed the words, yet they carried through all too clear. "You know that, right?"

"Of course I do." Scott moved in to deliver a soft, passionate kiss. He did his best to pour every feeling into their touch. "I love you too."

"You better." Sara smirked, sweat already gathering in a thin layer on her skin. Her pale cheeks were rosy and her eyes hooded in pleasure. Scott had many favourite moments and snapshots of his sister filed away mentally, but that image of Sara, deep in the throes of their forbidden passion, definitely ranked up there with the greatest. Scott hugged her close as they carried on. Somehow, this time felt more passionate, more important, like they were binding their souls together for eternity. Everything felt right, like it was always meant to be this way.

The sudden hiss of the door opening broke the moment like a hammer through ice.

"Pathfinder, sorry for intruding, but something-" Cora started briskly as she marched into the room. Then, she suddenly froze, belatedly catching sight of the twins naked and intertwined.

For a long, bizarre moment, no one moved.

The twins Ryder stared in horror at the blonde biotic.

Cora stared right back, her expression frozen in shock.

Then, Sara dived for the bed sheets to cover herself. At the same time, Scott dived for his clothes on the floor, almost falling face first in his haste. Scott flapped his mouth wordlessly as he tried to find an excuse, an explanation, something, anything. Nothing came to mind. He almost tripped and fell over again as he desperately clawed his trousers back on.

"Cora?" Sara finally broke the silence, her voice fearful and strained. She clung to the sheets that protected her modesty for dear life.

Cora turned to stare agape at Sara, then switched her gaze to Scott, then turned back again.

"We …" Sara's mouth moved in what Scott hoped was something suitable to explain the situation Cora had just walked into, but no words came out.

"I … err." Cora murmured roughly. She cleared her throat. The blonde looked distinctly uncomfortable, understandably. Her cheeks were aflame. She turned to Scott, but couldn't quite meet his eyes. "You're needed in the meeting room, Pathfinder."

Before anything else could happen, the blonde marched straight back out. The door closed once more with a soft hiss.

The twins were left alone in silence.

"Oh my God." Sara slapped a hand over her mouth, shaking her head, eyes wide. "She saw us."

"I know." Scott said lamely. He felt strangely hollow and numb.

"She _saw us_!" Sara hissed. She started panting immediately, not from passion, but from fear and panic.

Scott ran up to his sister, holding her firming by the arms. "It's alright, calm down, Sara." He pleaded.

"Alright?" Sara snarled. "How is _this_ alright? She _saw_ us, Scott! She knows!"

"Sara, calm down!" Scott pleaded, despite the blood hammering in his ears.

"All this time." Sara big, beautiful blue eyes were suddenly filled with tears. "We kept it hidden all this time. And now it's out there. Now everyone will know."

"Hey, hey, hey." Scott murmured quickly as he pulled Sara into a tight hug. "We'll figure this out, I promise you." He pressed a kiss to her cheek. "I promise."

They said nothing for a while, just swaying there in each other's arms in silence, while their breathing slowed and the reality of the event sunk in. They couldn't hide from this now, Scott knew. At some point, they would have to go outside that room and face the music. Now Cora knew, it was only a matter of time before the rest of the crew did too.

"I just- What do we do? What do we say?" Sara whispered anxiously.

"I … I think we just have to be honest with them." Scott swallowed uncomfortably. The very thought of it made him feel sick. He loved Sara with all his heart, he wasn't ashamed of that, but God only knew how the crew would react.

"Is running an option?" Sara sounded like she was going to be sick.

Scott couldn't help but breathe a chuckle. "I doubt it. I think Liam's doing some maintenance on the shuttle right now."

"Damn it." Sara moaned. She sighed heavily and then leaned back from their hug. Scott wiped at her cheek were faint tear lines lay. "Well, I guess there's no going back now."

"No, I guess not." Scott offered a small smile. "But it'll be alright. I love you Sara. I don't regret a single thing we've done." He swore and meant it.

"Really? I regret the last ten minutes, at the very least." Sara sighed as she started to dress.

Scott chuckled. "Fair enough, can't really argue with that."

"And that time you tried cooking Illium steak for our anniversary. You almost burned the apartment down, remember?"

"Ok, that too, I guess." Scott grimaced at the memory.

"And what about that time you took us to that dodgy restaurant on the citadel and we both ended up with food poisoning?"

"Do you want to go face them alone?" Scott narrowed his eyes darkly.

"Please don't leave me." Sara murmured, small and admonished.

"Don't be daft. I couldn't leave you even if I wanted to." Scott reached out for her hand and gave it a squeeze. "Are you ready?"

"Nope, not at all." Sara swallowed nervously. "Let's do it."

xxx

Walking through the Tempest had never felt so daunting, even when she boarded for the first time and met the famous crew who had saved the entire galaxy. She'd have paid a million credits, there and then, to wind back the clock to those days. She'd have paid a billion just to go back twenty minutes or so. Sara felt like something was going to swoop out from the next shadow and swallow her whole. Hell, that might even be a luxury compared to what they were about to do. She involuntarily gripped Scott's hand tighter. She felt him squeeze back. It wasn't particularly comforting, but she appreciated the effort all the same.

Sara jumped when a door opened to the side. Jaal walked out of the room he'd made his own. A plethora of gadgets and side projects the angaran was working on lay scattered about haphazardly behind him before the door closed in his wake.

"Ryder. Ryder." Jaal nodded to the twins in turn with a familiar smile.

"Jaal." Scott somehow managed to return the gesture with a sense of ease. "Are you busy?"

"Are we not going to the meeting room, Pathfinder?" The angaran eyed the Pathfinder curiously.

"We are?" Sara could see a trickle of sweat glide down her brother's temple.

"Cora called a meeting, didn't she? She said it was quite urgent."

Sara gulped audibly.

"Of- Of course." Scott rubbed at his eyes, belatedly remembering Cora's message. "Just … wasn't sure if you got the message is all. We'll be up in a second."

Jaal merely smiled again, apparently oblivious to the human's discomfort, then turned to head up to the meeting room. The soft chatter of conversation emanated down from the elevated viewing platform.

_They're all there, _Sara thought with dread,_ Cora's told them all already!_

The twins Ryder turned to face each other. Sara found the same look of fear she felt plastered on Scott's face.

"You sure we can't run?" Sara tried to chuckle as the twins slowly climbed the ramp to the face the crew. "We could grab an escape pod. Find a nice asteroid to hide on?"

"Tempting." Scott conceded. "We wouldn't last long on an asteroid though."

"We might not last long up there!" Sara jerked her head up towards the waiting crew and somehow kept her voice quiet.

"They're not going to attack us, Sara."

Sara quickly considered their crewmates. Like Cora, she could only imagine that the rest of the humans would take the news with shock and disgust. The rest of them however, she had no idea. What did asari think of the subject? Or turians? Or krogan?

"Are you certain?" Sara demanded. "One hundred percent? You saw Cora's face."

Scott's silence for a couple of seconds was telling.

"They're our friends." Scott offered finally and lamely. "It'll be alright. Anyway, we have to tell them now. Cora knows, it'll be better if we come out ourselves. Better they hear it from us than down the grapevine."

Sara couldn't argue with his words really, but she still didn't like them. "I hope you're right." Sara swallowed. She was back to feeling sick again.

"Either way, at least we'll know. We'll know where we stand." Scott stated, slightly more assured. "Let's just get it over with."

"After you, Pathfinder." Sara drawled unenthusiastically.

The twins finally crested the ramp and found the rest of the crew already assembled before them. Only Kallo and Suvi were absent, likely manning the bridge still. The quiet groups of conversation died down as they noticed the Ryders' approach. They each turned expectantly as the twins stepped to the opposite side of the centre display table form the rest of the crew. At least that would give them a chance if things really did come to blows. Sara chanced a glance at Cora. The blonde stood there impassive, her gaze falling anywhere but on the faces of the twins she'd so recently burst in on in the throes of passion. It was impossible to read her thoughts. The others however, seemed none the wiser to the sudden tension between the three humans.

_Maybe she hasn't told them?_

Sara heard Scott gulp as he stepped forward.

"Hello, everyone." The Pathfinder started, a distinct shake to his voice. "Sorry we're late. I, err … imagine you're all wondering why you're here?"

"It's alright, Scott. Cora already filled us in on the good news." Vetra intoned from the side.

"She has?" Scott's smile was brittle as bone.

Cora stepped forward, face still an impenetrable mask. "We've received word from Port Meridian, apparently they've detected a signal from dark space. They believe it to be the quarian ark. Nothing's been confirmed yet, but the hope is that it can be used to finally track them down." She spoke quickly and professionally.

Sara let out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding.

"That- That's great. That's _excellent_ news." Scott staggered out, relieved. He dragged a hand through his hair and his whole form visibly relaxed.

"You alright, boss?" Drack huffed, clearly picking up on the Ryder's tension.

Scott glanced back at Sara before replying. "Yeah … I- Well … we, have something to say as well."

As much as she wanted to run away and find somewhere to hide, Sara made her legs move forward and she took the hand of her brother. There was a slight tremble to his palm, but it soothed immediately upon contact.

"Alright …" Scott murmured. "I'm not really sure how best to tell you all this."

"Is everything alright?" Lexi moved forward in concern. "You're not sick are you? Everything was clear on your scans the other day."

"No, no." Scott shook his head. "I'm fine. It's just that- well … the thing is …" Scott froze, his mouth moved slightly as if trying desperately to speak, but his mind would just not provide the words.

"Here." Sara murmured softly with a smile as she mentally screamed and cursed at herself. "Let me." She put a reassuring hand on his arm and took the initiative.

Sara turned to the others, swallowing thickly. Their eyes seemed to bore into her. Her heartbeat was galloping in her ears. Had her lips always been so dry? Were her hands always this sweaty?

Sara squeezed Scott's hand and brought it up to her lips, kissing the back of his hand softly before lowering it with a sigh. "So, I imagine this will come as a bit of a shock to you all, but we're … we're together. Romantically, that is. Scott and I … are a couple."

Silence gripped the crew. They were all frozen in place. Their expressions ranged from surprise to confusion. Sara couldn't rightly tell which was which. Did it even matter?

"_Surprise_." Sara grinned weakly with an attempt at a bright sunny voice she certainly didn't feel.

PeeBee was the first to react. She shook her head a few times. "Heh, called it." The asari snickered.

"_What?_" Scott's and Sara's voices both cracked in unison.

"What?" PeeBee held her hands up in surrender with a smirk. "It wasn't that hard to work out. I've been getting vibes from you two for a while now."

"Really?" Vetra drawled, not taking her piercing gaze off of the twins.

"Didn't you?" PeeBee seemed more surprised at the turian than the humans. "Did no one ever notice how they keep running off together for some _private time_? No one saw any of the dirty little looks they give each other all the time? None of you noticed that Sara _never_ sleeps in the bunks with you all?"

Silence gripped the crew once more.

"Well, now that you mention it …" Liam spoke slowly, as if putting the pieces together in his mind.

"Seriously, I live in an escape pod you guys, and even _I_ worked it out." PeeBee shook her head disapprovingly at her crewmates.

Sara found herself blushing a little. Thinking about it now, her and Scott hadn't really been all that subtle, had they?

"I know this a lot to take in, but, well, we just thought you all should know." Sara's gaze flickered uncertainly between them all.

"You don't have to say anything, any of you." Scott spoke up to support his sister. "We understand that this might be … difficult for you all to accept. If this is too much, then, well, I don't know. We can all go our separate ways, if we have to. We'll understand."

That prospect galled Sara as much as she understood and accepted it. She hadn't been part of the Tempest's crew for nearly as long as the others, but it seemed pure sacrilege to break up the crew that had saved Andromeda and secured a future for the people of the Initiative and beyond.

"You can't be serious?" PeeBee demanded, incredulous. "Who else is gonna let me camp out in their escape pod?"

Strangely, Sara found that too much to take. She rushed forward and drew the asari into a crushing hug. "Thank you." She murmured, her voice a husky stagger.

"Easy there, girl." PeeBee chuckled, trying to worm her way out of Sara's embrace. She turned to the others before she was finally released. "Seriously, who can be mad at these cute, little freaks?"

"It's not that." Vetra shook her head ruefully. "It's just not really … _typical_, is it?" Vetra was clearly attempting to choose her words carefully. The turian's tone was even and she kept her emotions guarded. The fact that she made that effort alone meant something to Sara, like Vetra was trying not to judge or offend them, even if she was disturbed by the twins' confession.

"We get that this isn't what any of you expected." Scott spoke up. "But, Sara and I are in love." He looked to his sister's eyes with such affection that it filled Sara with warmth. "We have been for a long time now. I know that this'll come as a surprise to you all." – PeeBee coughed pointedly – "_Most_ of you, but … well, this is who we are."

Vetra held her piercing gaze on the humans for a long moment longer before nodding. Whether in approval or something else, Sara couldn't say.

"Wait a minute." PeeBee spoke up once more, finger on her lips in thought. "Why bother even coming out like this? I mean, your secret was pretty safe with how _blind _these guys are, clearly."

"Hey." Liam admonished with a slight scowl.

"Well …" Sara began, but she had no idea how to explain that Cora had just walked in on the twins in the midst of their forbidden relations. What's more, she didn't really want to. "We just … felt it was better that you guys heard it from us first hand, rather than … not." She offered lamely.

PeeBee seemed to accept the non-answer with a shrug.

"Is this sort of thing typical among humans?" Jaal asked the room curiously.

"_No_." Cora almost barked out, rubbing at her eyes wearily.

Sara flinched. "Cora?" Sara chanced moving closer to the powerful biotic. "Are you ok?"

The blonde said nothing for a long moment. Then, she sighed. "I won't lie. I'm having a bit of trouble processing all this."

"We're really sorry, Cora. We didn't want you to-"

"Let's just leave it, shall we?" Cora bit over Sara with a blank expression that was surely forced. "Just- Just leave it be, for now." Without waiting for a reply, Cora turned and strode from the room.

Sara merely nodded numbly and stepped back to Scott who wrapped an arm around her side. The blonde's reaction was better than she feared it would be at least. Still, she felt that that bridge was perilously close to the flames, If not already on fire. An awkward silence clung to the crew again. No one seemed to know how to voice their thoughts, feelings or questions. There were more than a few awkward expressions around the room.

"Aliens." Drack broke the silence abruptly with a something that resembled both a sigh and a chuckle, then turned to leave as well.

"So …" Scott began and the krogan stopped, raising a heavy eyebrow. "You're not … upset, disgusted?" Scott asked gingerly of them all. He seemed just as surprised as Sara that they hadn't been forcibly ejected from the airlock.

"Err, no?" PeeBee eyed the Pathfinder dubiously. "What, did you think that we'd be jealous or something?"

"No I-"

"Cause I hate to break it to you, but you're not that great of a catch, Pathfinder. Did Sara take pity on you or something?"

Sara couldn't help but laugh.

"That's not what I …" Scott began with a scowl, faltered, then smiled. "Thanks PeeBee."

"Anytime, Pathfinder." The asari winked at them both then she practically skipped away.

"Drack?" Sara asked tentatively.

"What, you two think you're something special? Like you're some kind of freaks? Listen here kids, I've been alive hundreds of years. I've seen some _real_ freaks and monsters in my time. I've lived through things that would make your ancestors puke their fossilised guts up if they could. I've seen far more fucked up things than two idiot aliens in love. You two are alright." Drack said gruffly.

Leaving those words of wisdom to hang in the air, Drack simply turned and trudged down the ramp. Neither twin had anything to say to that so they just stood there, stunned by the krogan's frankness.

"Can't say I don't find this all pretty damn weird." Vetra drew their attention, her arms folded as she considered her words. She sighed. "But Drack's right. Not like you're hurting anyone, right?"

"Thank you, Vetra." Sara smiled sincere.

The turian nodded stiffly, she was clearly unsure of what else to say.

"Yeah, Drack pretty much said it all, didn't he?" Liam chipped in with half of a grin, rubbing the back of his head as is just he was just finding something to do with his hands. "Congrats, I guess?"

"Thanks, Liam." Scott said.

Liam smiled weakly and gave a short shrug in reply. Then Vetra and Liam turned and left in Drack's wake.

"Gil? You ok?" Scott ventured to the engineer. He had been idling awkwardly to the side, either unable or unwilling to speak or leave.

"Well, I …" Gil began then stopped. "Let me get this straight. You two have been at it- _together_, together all this time?" He quickly corrected himself, his cheeks blossoming.

"Well … yes." Sara blushed a little herself.

Gil shook his head with a ghost of a chuckle. "Can't believe no one but PeeBee caught on to be honest." He rubbed the back of his head in a way that suggested he didn't know what to do with himself. "Guess we are all idiots, heh. Yeah … like Vetra said … I guess." He nodded a few times at nothing in particular and flicked his tongue absently.

"You can go if you want." Scott offered.

"Cheers boss." Gil needed no further prompting and quickly fled the awkward atmosphere.

"This is most unusual." Jaal murmured. He eyed the twins Ryder like they were an entirely new type of alien, or a freakish anomaly, it wasn't clear which.

"Yep." Scott smiled more than a little awkwardly. "You don't have to tell us."

"Still, you have always done right by me and my people in the past, Pathfinder." Jaal stepped forward, offering his webbed hand. "It would be wrong of me to turn my back on you merely for finding love in an unusual place. I wish you both the best of happiness."

Scott swallowed thickly, taking the offered hand gratefully. "Thank you Jaal, that means a lot."

"Thank you." Sara intoned as well.

The angaran smiled politely at them both before leaving the twins alone with the asari doctor.

"Well," Lexi stepped forward with a wan smile, one that was surely borne of years of medical practice. "I'm more annoyed at myself for not noticing anything really."

"Yeah, that was kind of the idea." Scott half joked.

"But, if I'm not mistaken, incest among humans is dangerous. If you two were to ever have children, the likelihood of … complications and genetic disorders increases dramatically. I hope you both understand that." Lexi warned in her clinical manner, but not unkindly.

Sara nodded biting her lip, she felt her heart fall a little. A slim, naïve part of her still held to the hope that one day she and Scott might be able to start a family like any other couple out there, at least without having to worry they were doing any harm.

"We understand." Scott murmured quietly, hugging Sara slightly with one arm.

"I'm not saying it's impossible, but …" Lexi sighed. "I wouldn't want to get your hopes up unnecessarily."

"Ok, thank you, Lexi." Sara bit her lip.

The asari doctor seemed unable to decide whether to say something more or leave. "Congratulations, I suppose." She shrugged then turned and left Scott and Sara alone.

The twins stood there in silence for a long moment, trying to process what had just happened. The great expanse of stars beyond the looking glass rotated slowly around them.

"That could have gone worse." Scott murmured quietly after a time.

"Yeah …" Sara nodded, her gaze staring off into the distance without really seeing. "Yeah …"

Scott pulled Sara's hands into his own. Sara looked up into his comforting eyes. "You know, I think it went well. No one kicked off, did they? Sure, they were pretty shocked, but who wouldn't be? They'll come around."

"Maybe. I hope so … I don't know about Cora, though." Sara swallowed dryly. "Did she seem pissed off to you? I couldn't tell."

"Well, it wasn't the best way for her to find out. We'll talk to her again, once she's had a chance to process it. She'll be fine, you'll see."

"And how did PeeBee know?" Sara demanded quietly, an incredulous smile rising. "Were we really that obvious?"

Scott shook his head with a shrug. "I don't know, maybe? She's right though, you never sleep in the crew quarters. We always find time to get away together, don't we? That's two pretty big clues right there."

Sara laughed and felt the tension leave her with each breath. "My God, we are such _idiots_."

Scott snickered and then turned his gaze back to his sister. "Don't you see what this means though?"

"What?"

"We've done it. We're '_out_' now." Scott smiled warm and true. "We don't have to hide anymore, not on the Tempest at least."

"There's still Port Meridian, the Nexus, everywhere else in Andromeda." Sara shook her head a little sadly. "It's not like this gives us a free pass now. What if one of the others says something? We're pretty much celebrities at this point, Scott. What if the whole _galaxy_ finds out?"

Scott silenced her ramblings by pulling her face around softly. "Hey, come on Sara, don't think like that. It won't get that bad, it'll be alright. They wouldn't do that to us, I'm certain of it. Besides, we spend most of lives on this ship. This is our home now. Aren't you glad we have a chance to finally be _us_ here?"

Sara smiled tenderly. "_Us_. I've always liked the sound of that, coming from you." She took a deep breath. "You're right. But let's give the others some time, yeah? I don't want to scare them off if we get too _'coupley'_ too soon. Let them get used to the idea first."

Scott nodded with light in his eyes. "Alright, sounds like a plan to me. We'll get through this, Sara, just you wait and see."

Sara smiled and leaned in, laying a soft kiss over her brother's lips. When they parted, they rested their heads together as they gazed out across the starry expanse of the galaxy beyond. Sara sighed happily to herself. It felt as though the weight of the whole universe had lifted from her shoulders. As much as she had been dreading _that_ conversation, she was so relieved that she and Scott had managed to come out of it unscathed.

"Hey."

The sudden noise broke both Ryders out of their comfortable silence. They turned to find PeeBee leaning over the ramp's bannister. The asari's eyes were bright and mirthful.

"Just wondering, do I get a reward or something for figuring it out before anyone else?"

Scott and Sara turned to look at each other, then swivelled back to look at PeeBee.

"No." They answered in unison with identical smirks.

"Spoilsports." The asari pouted, but then her chipper smile came back in force. "I'd take it all back, call you guys disgusting and all, but honestly, you two are kind of cute. Don't worry about the others, they'll come around. They've stuck with you through worse things than this. Just give it some time. We went with you to Elaaden remember? Who the hell would choose to go to Elaaden?"

"Thanks PeeBee." Sara smiled warmly.

"Out of curiosity, were we really that obvious to you?" Scott asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh Goddess yes." PeeBee laughed. "I'd say I'd have worked it out anyway, even if I _hadn't_ caught Sara creeping back to your cabin from the kitchen in just her underwear one night. It was a real nice set too, black and lacy, if I remember right." PeeBee rubbed at her chin in extreme thought with a smirk. "_Very_ sexy."

"PeeBee!" Sara's cheeks exploded in colour. She buried her head in her hands.

"Well, anyway, have a good night, lovebirds!" PeeBee's laugh was more a cackle as she ran off.

"I can never face any of them again." Sara swore, shaking her head ruefully.

"At least they aren't chasing us off the ship with pitchforks." Scott chuckled.

"You're enjoying this." Sara eyed her brother accusingly. "You are, aren't you?"

"Well, isn't this the sort of thing 'normal' couples have to put up with?" Scott lips twitched into a small, bashful grin. "Having their friends make fun of them like that? Catching them in awkward situations?"

Sara sighed, her lips lifting once more into a smile, even though her cheeks were still aflame. "I guess so. I guess … I just never really expected it to happen. I thought we'd always be keeping it a secret, till the day we die."

"How does it feel?" Scott took to rubbing Sara's back soothingly.

Sara took a deep breath before answering.

"Strange? … Awkward, _definitely_ awkward … But good, like it's a weight off of my shoulders." Sara smiled. "It's not how I'd have chosen to do it, but a part of me is glad it's out in the open now. I'm just so relieved they didn't outright reject us."

"Me too." Then, Scott's mouth turned into a smirk. "They wouldn't have kicked you out anyway. The whole crew _adores_ you."

"Shut up." Sara punched Scott's arm with a roll of her eyes.

"I'm serious, I was half scared they'd mutiny against me and make you Pathfinder when you first joined us." Scott chuckled then leaned in to press a kiss to Sara's cheek.

Sara felt a silly smile rising. "The thought did cross my mind." She teased.

Scott merely chuckled.

"I love you Scott." Sara whispered quietly, leaning in close.

"I love you too, Sara." Scott murmured and drew his sister into a hug. Sara hugged him back gladly. Their bodies just felt so right together, like it was always meant to be.

The twins stayed there a while longer, just quietly talking and teasing and laughing with each other. While it was so familiar, it was also so new. They weren't afraid anymore. Finally, they could just be who they really were.


	6. You're Worth It All

**You're Worth It All**

"Suvi, Kallo? Can we talk to you guys for a sec?" Sara poked her head through the door to the bridge as it opened with a quiet hum.

The salarian pilot and human science officer turned in their chairs with open smiles.

"Of course. Of course." Kallo beckoned the Ryder twins over the threshold with an enthusiastic wave. "You never need to ask. It's always just the two of us, just chatting away."

"Yes, though we have to be careful we're not gossiping about you when you come knocking on our door." Suvi teased.

"We're on course for Meridian, Pathfinder, should get there in just a few hours." Kallo supplied as Scott and Sara filed onto the bridge. Even though there were only two of them, telling Kallo and Suvi the full extent of the Ryders' relationship seemed no less daunting than it had for the rest of the crew.

"So …" Sara began.

"Is this about Cora's news?" Kallo piped up.

Scott and Sara both froze involuntarily.

"Let's hope we can track down the quarian ark, before it is lost again." The salarian smiled. "Though after everything we've been through, what's one more ark or two."

Scott and Sara both relaxed with a faint sigh.

"No, it's, err, not about that." Scott started, clearing his throat with a cough. "It's something more personal that we have to tell you guys."

"Oh, I hope you're both well?" Suvi asked, concerned.

"Yes, we're both fine." Sara smiled reassuringly. She looked to Scott as her lips became brittle. _Do you want to tell them?_ Sara asked her brother silently. _I told the others._

Scott sighed. "Ok, you see, the thing is. Sara and I … are _involved_."

"Involved in what?" Kallo asked immediately before the Pathfinder could clarify.

"Well, each other, romantically speaking." Scott swallowed thickly. "Sara and I, are a couple."

Sara received the strongest sense of déjà vu as Kallo and Suvi stared at them in confused silence.

"Oh." Suvi said.

"Oh." Said Kallo.

"We know this is a lot to take in." Sara spoke softly. "We just wanted you to know from us, first hand."

"Right." Kallo murmured, his eyes as wide as saucers. "Can't say I was expecting that."

Suvi shook her head in agreement, her mouth open slightly in shock.

"Are you two alright?" Scott asked with a hint of an awkward grimace. "We understand if this is hard for you to take."

"Err …" Suvi started but immediately ran out of steam. She looked to Kallo as if asking for help to formulate her words.

"It's just … a bit of a shock is all." Kallo covered for his co-pilot.

"Of course." Sara nodded in understanding. "It's alright, you don't have to say anything. We just … wanted you to know." The female Ryder smiled weakly with a vague gesture of the arms.

"Right." Kallo nodded absently. "Well … thank you?"

"Congratulations." Suvi offered with a brittle smile.

"Yes, congratulations." Kallo seized upon the word.

"Thank you." Sara and Scott nodded gratefully.

The four stood and sat in silence for a long, awkward few moments.

"Well, we should be …" Scott indicated a thumb over his shoulder vaguely.

"Of course. Of course." Kallo leapt upon the chance immediately. "And we should get back to …" The pilot struggled to remember.

"Flying." Suvi provided with a smile.

"Yes, that." The salarian half laughed. "We'll get you to Port Meridian in no time, Pathfinder, Sara."

There was nothing else to say really. Kallo and Suvi turned back to their stations without another word while Scott and Sara quickly extradited themselves from the bridge. The twins Ryder sighed identical sighs of relief when the door closed behind them.

"God, that was awkward." Scott murmured quietly so that they wouldn't be overheard.

"I hope we don't have to do that anymore." Sara moaned. "Once was bad enough."

"Well, we did it, we've told the whole crew now."

"Now we just have to smooth things over with … uh, everyone." Sara muttered unenthusiastically.

"Not everyone, PeeBee, Drack and Jaal were alright with us."

"Great, three down already, only seven left to go." Sara resisted the temptation to roll her eyes. "_Yay_."

"We knew it was never going to be easy. Some of them were always bound to have a harder time accepting it."

"I know, I know. I just wish it could be over and done with already."

"We'll get through this." Scott leaned over to kiss the top of Sara's head. "You'll see, we'll be better off when they all come round."

"Here's hoping." Sara murmured with little enthusiasm. "Alright. Cora first? She was the first to, err, find out." The memory of being so abruptly interrupted by the blonde biotic was not a favoured memory of Sara's. She'd have wagered good money that Cora wasn't a particular fan of it either.

"Sounds like a plan." Scott nodded. "Let's go find her."

The Ryder twins strode through the Tempest over towards Cora's room where she liked to care for her plants and get some peace and quiet away from the others. With more than a little trepidation, Scott knocked on the door.

"Cora?" Scott called. "Are you there?"

Silence.

Scott knocked on the door again, still nothing. If Cora was there, she was clearly doing a very good job of hiding from the Ryders.

Scott looked to Sara with a half shrug. "Guess she's not there."

"Or she's hiding from us." Sara bit her lip, gazing at the door with an anxious look. "I hope we haven't completely fucked things up with her."

Scott wasn't sure. They hadn't had a real opportunity to speak with Cora since their confession. In fact they hadn't even seen the blonde since.

"She'll probably be elsewhere on the ship." Scott murmured but he was unconvinced himself. "Let's try the cargo bay. If all else fails, we can try with the others first."

"Alright." Sara seemed reluctant to leave, but finally she tore her eyes from the sealed door and followed her brother.

Scott and Sara ambled down over the cargo bay. They didn't find Cora, but they did find Vetra, Liam and Gil, working on the Nomad together. Well, Vetra and Gil were working on the Nomad, Liam was 'advising' from the comfort of a storage box. Their relaxed chatter wafted through the open space like a comforting blanket. It sounded just like the old times, before there were any elephants in any of the rooms. Scott glanced at Sara and shrugged with a look that said '_No time like the present'_. Sara nodded with a half-smile. The twins ventured into the room.

"I'm telling you, it's the combustion manifold that's not working." Gil was saying, exasperated.

"Don't talk to me about combustion manifolds." Vetra muttered as she struggles with something beneath the vehicle. "I'm looking right at it. It's not the damn manifold."

Gil flicked at his omni tool with a shake of his head. "That's not what my readings are telling me, and my readings are never wrong."

"Should I be taking bets right now?" Liam snickered to the side.

Vetra ignored him. "I hate to break it to you, Gil, but your readings are vorcha crap." She mumbled something under her breath as she worked hard to wrench something. Then, she pushed herself out from under the Nomad and stood, wiping her hands together. "Have another look." The turian smirked.

The engineer duly looked at his omni tool again. His brow furrowed. He tapped at the orange screen a few times. Gil looked back up at Vetra with suspicious eyes. "How did you do that?"

"Told you, it wasn't the combustion manifold." Vetra twirled the wrench in her hand a moment before tossing it to Gil.

Gil merely shook his head and dropped the wrench into the open toolbox with a clang and clatter.

"Damn, should have made that bet." Liam put in from the side. "I'd have totally gone for Vetra by the way."

"That's usually a safe bet." Scott spoke as the twins stepped into the fray. "Working hard I trust?"

Three sets of eyes looked up at the Ryders' approach with surprise. The atmosphere changed like someone had flipped a switch. An awkward tension hung over them all, like Scott and Sara had brought some kind of contagious disease to the ship.

"Pathfinder?" Liam immediately stood from his box, back straight and stiff. "We were just-"

"It's ok." Scott held up a placating hand. "Actually, we were just wondering if we could talk?"

"Err, sure?" Liam turned a wary look at Vetra and Gil, he received little more than shrugs in reply, so he gave Scott and Sara a shrug in turn.

"Is everything alright, guys? I know we dropped quite the bombshell on you the other day." Scott asked tentatively.

Liam rubbed at the back of his head and gave Vetra and Gil a glance. "Yeah, all's good, Pathfinder. It's just … err, a lot to take in, I guess." He offered with a grin that looked more of a grimace.

"Look, we know it's a bit _weird_, but we're still just _us_." Sara offered with a tentative smile. "We're still just Scott and Sara, nothing's changed there. You can still talk to us … you know, if you want to."

"Sure, sure … erm." Liam began but quickly faltered, so instead he merely gave a nervous chuckle. The former cop looked back at Vetra and Gil for help.

"Alright." Vetra sighed heavily and pushed off of the Nomad she had been leaning against. "I guess I'll start then. Yeah it is pretty weird, I think I can speak for all of us in that really. I can't understand it to be honest, I'm not sure I ever will."

Scott and Sara glanced at each other warily.

"_But_ …" The turian chewed over her words for a moment. "Like I said before, it's not like your hurting anyone. You guys seem happy, I guess that's all there is to it. And I don't think that there's anyone on this ship who'll ditch you now. You guys have always had our backs, and we've got yours, both of you. We're not about to ditch you now." Vetra finished with a genuine smile.

"Thank you, Vetra." Sara swallowed thickly, her voice heavy with emotion. "That really means a lot … damn it, why am I getting emotional over this." Sara shook her head as she wiped at her eyes.

Vetra sighed with a shake of her head. "Come here." She beckoned with arms outstretched and an expression of mild annoyance that neither Ryder bought for a second.

Sara needed no further encouragement. She rushed in and gratefully hugged the turian. "Thank you." The human murmured. "This really means a lot."

"Didn't think we'd throw you out of the airlock or anything, did you?" Vetra chuckled with a look at Scott.

"Of course not." Scott lied easily with a smile. "It's just that … we're glad you're not mad at us."

"Give us a little credit, Pathfinder." Gil intoned from the side. "After everything you've pulled us through: what with the scourge and all the life threatening dangers of space, the planets that just want to kill us, the crazy Angaran extremists, the crazy ex-Initiative extremists, and all the blood sucking politicians and … Ok, why _aren't_ we mad at them again?" The engineer asked Vetra and Liam with a raise brow. "You're clearly bad for our health, Pathfinder."

"In all seriousness though." Liam put in. "We're good, Ryder, really. It's just … I don't know, it's just gonna take a little while to get used to it is all."

"Well, if it helps, you can ask us anything if you want." Scott offered.

Sara broke back from Vetra and shot him a quick look that screamed: _Are you sure about that?_

"Well, I guess I was a little curious." Liam started, cheeks deepening in colour a little. "How did you guys even start going out? You know, how did you go from regular brother and sister to '_together_'? How did that conversation go?"

"Well …" Scott began with a look at Sara. His sister merely folded her arms as if to say: _you started this, this is your problem now_. "It was before we even came to Andromeda. There wasn't really much of a conversation at first."

"Well now, that sounds like a story." Vetra smirked, folding her arms alongside Sara. "Do tell."

"Maybe another time. Has anyone seen Cora around?" Scott was eager to change the subject. He could feel his cheeks heating up.

"Not since your big reveal." Gil said.

"I've seen her about. She's been keeping to herself mostly, hasn't really said much to me recently." Vetra murmured, narrowing her eyes slightly. "Is Cora upset with you two?"

Sara looked at Scott with a half-smile, half-grimace. "Maybe? We're not sure."

"That's what we're hoping to find out." Scott said.

"Maybe try catching her when she's not trapped on a ship?" Liam offered. "It can sometimes feel a little cramped on a small ship like this. Doesn't help when there's tension in the air."

"Sounds like you have a bit of experience in that area, Kosta." Vetra murmured. "Care to share?"

Liam chuckled. "Nothing you won't get out of me without a few good drinks first."

Gil snapped his fingers. "Hey, maybe when you find her, you could get Cora drunk. People open up more when they're not sober, you know."

"That's … an idea." Scott murmured, the thought of an angry, drunk biotic crashed into his mind's eye like a raging krogan. His mind also chose that moment to recall that Cora had trained for years with asari commandos. "We'll think on it."

"Any idea why she'd take it so hard?" Vetra asked. "I mean, she found out about you two just like the rest of us, right?"

The moment's pause between Scott and Sara spoke volumes.

"Oh, spirits." Vetra sighed, rubbing her eyes. "She caught you two in the act, didn't she? That's why you came out and told the rest of us. You wanted to head off any rumours before they started."

"Wow. I admire your guts, you two. Caught red handed, you throw caution to the wind and reveal all." Gil murmured with head bobbing slightly in approval. "Well, maybe not all, you saved that just for Cora it seems."

Liam snorted.

"It's not like we planned it that way." Sara protested, her cheeks flaming. "It just, sort of happened."

"I'm sure she'll be fine." Liam offered through a humoured smirk. "Just have a talk with her, share a drink or something. She's probably been in some embarrassing, compromising positions herself. She'll understand."

"Really?" Vetra eyed the former cop dubiously. "Are we talking about the same Cora Harper here? Short blonde hair, biotic powers, no nonsense, by the book, straighter than straight, Cora Harper?"

"Well, maybe not then." Liam conceded.

Scott looked at Sara and she gazed back. The twins wore identical expressions of concerned doubt.

xxx

The Tempest swept in to touch down at Port Meridian in quick order. Sara hadn't even realised they were landing at the dyson sphere until Kallo made the announcement over the intercom. The ship touched down with nary a jolt and barely a sound. The hanger bay door opened with the familiar whine of hydraulics and let the sunlight come streaming in over the growing metropolis.

As the crew filed off of the Tempest, Sara was struck by how strange it was that they never seemed to notice gravity flipping in on itself whenever they transitioned between space and the dyson sphere. There was still so much about this place – about this entire galaxy – that they had yet to discover. She hadn't even caught a glimpse of Cora while everyone was disembarking. The biotic blonde might have made a run for it as soon as the ship touched down.

"I don't see her anywhere." Scott murmured at Sara's side as they strode down the ramp.

"Nor me." Sara bit her lip. "Shall we split up? Might make it easier to track her down?" Though she certainly didn't mean it that way, Sara now had the image of them hunting Cora down like a wild animal, though this jungle was a lot more metropolitan.

"Yeah, that's probably best." Scott sighed. "I'll try the asari districts."

"Ok, you guys always make it sound like she is _obsessed_ with the asari."

"She kind of is." Scott chuckled lightly.

"I am _ninety percent_ sure she has a stuffed toy of a matriarch or a justicar to cuddle with at night." PeeBee snickered as she passed the twins and jogged off into the city on some crazy adventure or other.

"Besides, we've got to start somewhere." Scott smiled.

"Alright, I'll try some of the bars around here." Sara turned her omni-tool on, searching for the map of the city.

"Good luck!" Liam called over as he strode away towards the nearest bar. The others had already meandered off to see to their business or else seek out the nearest place off rest. Vetra was already deep in business with someone at the edge of the landing pad.

"You could help too, you know." Sara narrowed her eyes accusingly at the former cop.

"I am helping! I'll search in this bar. I'll be very thorough, check under every table and chair." Liam smirked. "I'll let you know if she's in." He tapped the top of his arm, indicating his omni-tool.

Sara and Scott both merely rolled their eyes as they set off on their search. Sara hoped it wouldn't take too long to track down the biotic. Though Port Meridian was growing at a rapid pace, it was still a fairly small settlement that could be crossed in only an hour or two. Thankfully, the city was laid out in clear districts for different types of business and industry. At least Director Addison was good for something, Sara thought bitterly.

Sara ambled into Landfall, one of the bars she'd visited with her brother and friends on their quest to try all bars in Andromeda. Once again she was hit with the strange sense of déjà vu at the familiarity of the place. She smiled idly to herself at fond memories before taking a look around the place. There were only a few patrons lazed in the mid-afternoon. Sara almost did a double take when she spotted her quarry sat alone in a booth, well away from anyone else.

Cora looked up and spotted Sara. For a moment they both just froze, staring at each other. Sara offered a small smile. Cora seemed to sigh and took a big swig of her drink. Sara wondered if it was the biotics' first of the night. She decided to order a drink of her own before ambling over.

"Is this seat taken?" Sara gestured to the entire empty row across from Cora.

"No, help yourself."

Sara sat down and eyed the blonde for a moment. "So, do you come here often?" She wagged her eyebrows with a hint of a smirk.

Cora raised her head and one eyebrow. The blonde looked distinctly unamused.

"Sorry." Sara grimaced. "Bad joke. Is everything alright, Cora? We were getting worried about you."

"Of course, you don't need to worry about me." Cora gave Sara a small smile but the tension remained heavy in the air between them.

"Alright." Sara flicked her tongue inside of her mouth a few times as she gauged how best to proceed. "Listen, I'm really sorry you had to find out that way. We didn't-"

"Sara." Cora cut off the female Ryder with a weary sigh. "It's alright. You don't need to apologise."

Sara closed her mouth and waited patiently, expecting more to come.

"Ok ..." Cora began before staring intently on her drink for a long moment. "You know I was your father's second back when he … when he was Pathfinder?"

Sara nodded, silently wondering where the biotic was going with this.

"I was always meant to be his successor, should anything happen. And then he … _passed_, and Scott became the Pathfinder instead. God, I won't lie, I hated him for that. I was angry and grieving, I felt betrayed and-" Cora cut herself off before her emotions got the better of her and dragged a hand through her shock of blonde hair.

Sara had a sense that there was more that Cora was leaving unsaid. She knew that Cora was close to her father, but she had a feeling that it was more than that. Sara kept quiet and waited for her friend to continue.

"Well, let's just say that I didn't take it well at first." Cora lips twitched wanly. "But I've got to admit, he's a great Pathfinder, he's made the role his own. Now, I don't begrudge him the title at all. He's probably better at it than I could ever be. It's actually incredible, all the things he's done … and I just- Well, I thought that he might… I don't know what I thought." Cora mumbled the last few words into her glass.

It took Sara a long moment to connect the dots and see what Cora was telling her. Her mouth fell into a near perfect 'O'.

"Oh." Sara began before swallowing an uncomfortable lump in her throat down. "I'm sorry, Cora." She didn't know what else to say.

"It's alright." Cora smiled but the gesture didn't quite reach her eyes. "I don't blame you or anything. It's not like we get to control our feelings or anything, do we?"

"No, unfortunately not. And believe me, I've tried." Sara smiled in return. She reached out and held Cora's hand in her own. She was pleasantly surprised that the blonde didn't remove it instantly. "I never wanted to hurt you, Cora."

"I know that, and I know Scott didn't either. It is what it is." Cora murmured before chuckling to herself. "Damn you Ryders, you're gonna be the death of me one of these days."

Sara couldn't help but chuckle at that herself. "So … why tell me about this? I mean, I'm glad you're still talking to me, but still."

"Well, is it really any more embarrassing than someone stumbling in on you fucking your own brother?" Cora muttered without heat, a hint of a smirk to her lips.

"_Touché_." Sara felt her cheeks deepening in colour, but she sighed and smiled back.

"Listen, you don't have to worry about me." Cora lowered her voice with a quick glance around the nearly deserted bar. "I'm not gonna go blabbing about you two to the media or anything."

"Thank you, but that wasn't what I-" Sara started but quickly swallowed the denial. "We were worried about you."

Cora's lips twitched a little in reply but she said nothing, preferring to take another swig of her drink. After a short while she perked her head up. "Where is Scott, anyway?"

"We split up to look for you. He said he was checking the asari districts."

Cora scoffed and shook her head. "Seriously, everyone thinks I'm obsessed with the asari or something. Just because I have an admiration for their culture and military doctrine, it doesn't make me _obsessed_."

"I couldn't really say." Sara busied herself in her glass and quickly drained it. "Want another one?" Sara nodded at Cora's glass.

"I wouldn't say no."

Sara ordered another pair of drinks for them both. When the glasses came, Sara offered hers up to Cora. "To fucked up feelings."

Cora chuckled as she clinked her glass against Sara's. "To you _fucking_ Ryders." They took a deep drink together. Cora hissed as the last of her alcohol hit her throat. "Alright, enough moping around. Let's actually try and enjoy this shore leave, shall we?"

"Sounds like a plan to me." Sara smiled and stood with Cora.

"Where is everyone else anyway?"

"Oh, you know, doing whatever they normally do on shore leave."

"So, throwing all their credits away on drink and getting completely wasted, before remembering all the jobs they have to do last minute?"

"Yeah, that sounds about right." Sara smiled.

Cora chuckled. "Alright, shall we join them?"

"Sure, let's go find them." Sara returned the chuckle. She threw an arm around Cora's shoulders and half hugged the blonde. Cora smiled and slung her arm around Sara as they meandered their way through the city.

xxx

"Come on man, you could use a break." Liam endeavoured to coax Scott, gently swinging a glass of whiskey or bourbon back and forth in front of the Pathfinder in what was clearly supposed to be a seductive manner. "Cora will turn up at some point. Have a drink."

"Weren't you just at that bar by the docks?" The Pathfinder asked with a raised eyebrow. The two men stood in yet another bar, deep in the city. Scott had lost count of how many he'd checked over the last hour. He also wasn't sure if he should be annoyed or not that Liam had started an impromptu pub crawl. They were all on shore leave, but he'd appreciate a little assistance.

"Maybe, but they had awful drinks there. So instead, I found this place. Nice, right?"

Scott merely murmured. It was a nice place. It looked pricey, but nice.

"Come on, it's your shore leave too you know. Live a little."

Scott eyed the glass that was held tantalisingly close for a long moment. "Fine, just _one_ drink, then, your helping me track her down."

"Yes! That's music to my ears." Liam chuckled and handed over the drink.

Scott shook his head with a vague grin before taking the plunge. He hissed a little as the liquid burned his throat.

"We should get everyone here." Liam pulled up his omni-tool and began typing. "Make it a celebration or something."

"A celebration of what?"

"Well, you and Sara, obviously."

Scott eyed the former cop dubiously. Was he drunk already? "You know we want to keep that all quiet, right? That means no shouting it about for all to hear in crowded bars."

"I know. I know. Relax, I meant we could all just get together, raise a glass and send you off with our best wishes or something like that."

"Well, just be subtle, alright? We don't want anyone catching on. I'm serious." Scott threw a glance around the room for any journalists hiding under the tables.

"Scott, relax, I can do subtle."

"I hope so." Scott murmured. "Not that I don't appreciate the thought, but this is a bit of a switch, isn't it? I mean, you were more than a little awkward with us before."

"Yeah … yeah I know." Liam half shrugged, shuffling on his feet a little. "Which is why, I think, we should do something to make up for that. Hey, we could throw you a party."

"We're having a party now?" The sudden voice made both men jump as PeeBee sprang into being beside them.

"Jesus, when did you get here?" Liam demanded with accusing eyes.

"Me? I just got here." PeeBee took a sip from the strange looking cocktail in her hand. It was a mess of vibrant colour and the liquid swirled impossibly around PeeBee's straw. Asari drinks were more alien than the species themselves it seemed. "I hope I'm invited to your little party." She gave both men a pointed look.

"_Everyone's_ invited. We're trying to get everyone together. Have you seen anyone around?" Liam asked.

"Sure, Vetra's just over there." The asari pointed a thumb over her shoulder. Scott looked over to see the turian wandering in. She gazed about for a moment before spotting their little gathering and ambled over.

"How do you do that?" Scott asked.

"Oh, I just messaged her earlier." PeeBee smiled sunnily.

"Oh." Scott took another draft before his brow narrowed again. "Wait, how-"

"And if you handle Sara, I'll handle the others." PeeBee brought up her omni-tool and tapped over it quickly. "Gil, Jaal and Drack should be along soon. I think we can get pretty much everyone. I even managed to convince Suvi to come out. Lexi will probably turn up at some point."

"But how-" Scott tried again.

"Hang on, that's pretty impressive." Liam chuckled. "Didn't think Suvi even drinks?"

The asari merely shrugged with a smile.

Scott just sighed into his drink and opened up his own omni-tool. He keyed in a quick message to Sara. Barely a minute later, he received a smiley face in reply.

Just as PeeBee had predicted, much of the rest of the Tempest's crew arrived at the bar in short order. They found an empty booth and settled in. Drack couldn't fit between the benches and the table so he just stood, grumbling with Lexi at his side. Scott smiled warmly when he finally caught sight of Sara walking through the door. Cora was close behind. The two women were chatting amicably, so he took that as a good sign.

"Hey." Scott thrust a drink into Sara's hands as she settled in beside him. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah, everything's good." Sara murmured with a genuine smile herself. She glanced at Cora on her other side. "Explain later."

Scott merely nodded and chanced a glance at Cora. The blonde biotic grinned back and reached over to playfully punch him in the shoulder. Scott chuckled, feeling much more relaxed.

"So what's this all about?" Sara whispered to Scott.

"Liam wanted everyone here. He wants to raise a glass to us, or something."

"_What?_" Sara shot back, incensed, her voice only just barely a whisper. "There's a fair load of people about."

"He said he'd be subtle about it." Scott held his hands up.

"I hope you're right." Sara narrowed her eyes accusingly as if the whole thing had been Scott's idea.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, can I have your attention please?" Liam chose that moment to bang his hand on the table to draw everyone's attention. The former cop cleared his throat theatrically. "Thank you all for coming here today, on this most … _auspicious_ of occasions."

"I don't think you're qualified to perform weddings, Kosta." Vetra drawled with a smirk.

"_What?_" Sara popped up, alarmed. Scott went slack jawed, his mouth went dry.

"If this is a wedding, when does the gunfight start?" Drack intoned, oblivious to the Ryder's shock. All eyes stared at the krogan. "What? Not a proper wedding until there's been at least a little bloodshed."

"This isn't a wedding, guys." Scott rubbed at his face wearily.

"Really? That's not what I heard." Gil threw a confused look at PeeBee.

"_PeeBee_." Scott and Sara growled together.

"What? I thought you guys wanted everyone to get together." The asari held her hands up with an innocent expression. The troublesome asari was likely confident in her safety by the table that separated her from the Ryder twins. "I just thought it would be quicker if everyone thought there was something worth coming over for."

"I was having a nice, quiet night in." Suvi sighed with a shake of her head.

"There's plenty of work I could be doing right now, you know." Vetra said. "The Tempest doesn't stock itself, you know."

Scott glanced over at Sara as the others descended into complaining and bickering. His sister merely grinned back with a wide eyed look that screamed: '_the crap we have to deal with, right?_' Scott smirked back. PeeBee's little lie had got him thinking however. What if he and Sara really did get married? They couldn't of course, not officially, but the idea alone made him smile.

"Guys, guys, we're getting side tracked, everyone." Liam clapped the table again until he had everyone's attention on him once more. "Ok, we've established that you all have better things to do … and that PeeBee's a liar."

"Hey!" The asari protested. She took a long, noisy slurp of her drink through her straw with a pout.

"What we're really here for." Liam continued unabashed, raising his drink to Scott and Sara. "Is to raise a raise a glass to, perhaps the two of the finest, strongest, _craziest_ people I've ever met."

Sara glanced at Scott with a hint of smile.

"We might not understand them. Hell, we might even think they're completely mad and what they're doing is a bit stupid and dangerous."

"Please, keep it coming." Scott murmured with a pointed look and a heavy dose of sarcasm. _Just how much has Liam had tonight?_

"But they're _ours_, and after all the hell they've gone through, they deserve whatever happiness they can find, _wherever_ they can find it." Liam winked conspiratorially at the couple.

Scott and Sara both sighed heavily.

"So, without further ado, to Scott and Sara."

"Scott and Sara!" The rest of the table echoed, raising their glasses in salute.

The twins smiled and gave out grateful thanks. Scott saw that Sara's cheeks were just as rosy as his, the twins were so used to keeping their relationship hidden, that having it acknowledged semi-openly was strange. Scott almost felt like he was naked, that he was exposed for all to see. But the others were kind and gave them both warm words and smiles. As strange as this little impromptu gathering had been, it was touching that they had all made the effort.

"Alright, that was it, everyone." Liam clapped his hands together. "Feel free to make a run for it."

No one did make a run for the door, but the group gradually thinned out as the evening drew on and fatigue set in. Soon enough, Scott and Sara found themselves walking the quiet streets of Port Meridian together. The sun at the heart of the dyson sphere still shone high above them, but the brightness had receded somewhat as part of the sun's regular pulsing cycle that approximated the day/night cycle of regular planets. The slightly dimmed light was the closest the dyson sphere got to a true night time. Scott didn't really understand how it all worked. He suspected no one else really did either. Most of the colony's citizens were probably asleep despite the light, leaving the Ryders to amble through the streets alone.

"That could have gone worse." Scott murmured into Sara's ear with a contented smile as he draped an arm over her shoulder.

His sister looked at the arm then aimed a quizzical glance at her brother. "Really? What if someone sees?"

"Then they'll just see two people walking down a street together. There's no harm in that, right?" Scott's words were light, but he tried to put serious meaning into the look he gave her. Just for once, for one moment, he didn't want to have to hide. He wanted them to be normal, even if it was only fleeting.

Sara glanced about quickly. She shook her head but reached up to hold his hand in hers. "Just don't make a habit of it." She scowled, eyes fixed ahead as if looking at him would trigger a horde of cameramen to burst out the nearest doors and alleyways.

"You know, I'm glad we told them." Scott smiled.

"You are _now_." Sara corrected with a poke to his side. "It was awful at first."

"Well, yeah, definitely, but you're worth it all."

"Flatterer." Sara drawled but Scott caught the silly grin that took over her lips.

"I mean it." Scott murmured, fully serious. "Everything's worth it, for you."

"Even if they would have turned on us?"

"I said it'd be alright when they came around."

"If you say '_I told you so_', I will _ruin_ that pretty face of yours." Sara warned with a raised fist.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Scott promised with a chuckle. He leaned in a pressed a quick kiss to her neck before she could push him away. "Besides, there's other things you want to do with this '_pretty face_'." He wagged his eyebrows at her suggestively.

Sara suppressed a snort and bit her lip. Her gaze greedily drifted down his body. "Think the Tempest will still be empty?"

"Maybe? Our room will be."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Sara smiled deliciously devilish before taking off. "Race you!"

Scott chuckled before running off after her. It warmed his heart to see her happy and carefree again. They had undoubtedly done the right thing, telling the rest of the crew. It would change things for them going forward, surely, but it was good to know that some things would always stay the same.


	7. Your Eyes on Me

**Your Eyes on Me**

"What I want to know …" Liam began before taking a hearty swig from his beer can. "Is how did you two manage to keep it secret for such a long time?"

"Yeah." Vetra murmured in agreement, gently swirling her own can. "I was thinking the same thing myself."

"Well …" Sara began, an awkward blush rising on her cheeks as she rubbed the back of her head. "I'm not sure really. We just tried to make sure that we never did anything in front of you guys. We just tried to be careful."

The three of them were sat and stood in the Tempest's cargo bay, taking a well-deserved break from performing some maintenance on the Nomad. The atmosphere was quiet and relaxed, which was a significant improvement from the mood of Sara and Scott's confession a few days earlier. Sara was relieved that their crewmates and friends had generally come around to the idea of the Ryder twins as a couple, though she still felt a little squeamish answering questions on the matter.

"I mean, you can't have been all _that_ careful can you? Or PeeBee would never have caught on." Liam said.

"Well, yeah. I guess we took the odd risk." Sara tried burying her blush into her own beverage. "Maybe one or two."

"Oh spirits." Vetra sighed wearily. "You didn't do it while we were around, did you? Like right behind us or under our noses or something stupid like that."

"No!" Sara's cheeks were crimson now. "No. Nothing like that. We just … may have been a little too _eager_, from time to time … on occasion."

Vetra narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "You had sex in the Nomad, didn't you?"

Liam immediately jerked away from said Nomad that he had been leaning against.

"No!" Sara protested, though now that she thought about it, the idea held distinct appeal: An easy way to get some privacy, the ability to escape at a moment's notice, plus the Nomad was surprisingly comfy inside. She filed the idea away for future reference. "We never went that far, especially when you guys were around."

"_That far_?" Liam raised an eyebrow, morbidly curious. "How far, exactly?"

"Yeah, come on Sara."

Sara whipped her head around at the sudden noise from above her. PeeBee, Drack and Gil were all leaning on the railing of the second floor.

"Tell us all your dirty little secrets." The asari smirked.

"Don't you all have work to do?" Sara narrowed her eyes accusingly.

"Nope." Drack seemed to snigger.

_A likely story, _Sara though with sarcasm.

Sara sighed. "Well, I guess we were just … a little risky with how we showed our affection. Maybe a look here or there that lingered just a tad too long, you know how it is."

"Give us details!" Gil yelled out through his hands like a makeshift megaphone.

"Seriously, don't any of you have anything better to do?"

"No!" Gil called back.

Sara grumbled under her breath for a moment before deducing that no, she probably couldn't throw them all out of the nearest airlock. Drack alone would be a nightmare to lift, even with her biotic powers.

"Fine." Sara finally drawled. "Well, on occasion, we just so happened to let our gazes … wander a bit."

"Like?" Liam probed with a hint of a smirk.

"Like …" Sara began with a sigh and a sense that she would regret this conversation immediately.

xxx

"Heave!"

A mighty groan followed the foreman's word as dozens of hands pulled at their ropes. Their efforts were rewarded with the slow but steady raising of a heavy metal wall.

Sara watched the display from the side lines with a bottle in hand. It was far too hot to be doing such manual labour she thought as she sucked on her straw. Before the female Ryder, a wide plethora of different species were all joined together in the effort, human, turian, asari, krogan, every representative race from the Milky Way. Even the angara of Andromeda were represented. It was everything the Initiative had promised and strove for, if only it could be framed and put on the new wall.

"That's it. Beautiful!" The sharp click of a camera shutter drew Sara's attention to the right. She shook her head in disdain. _Of course_ there would be an actual photographer. This whole exercise was just one big publicity stunt. She'd have wagered all the credits to her name that Tann was behind it all.

"Heave!"

There was a practical aspect to this though. The building that was in the process of being built was to serve as a new grain silo for the new – and rapidly growing – Port Meridian. Photo opportunities aside, Sara didn't understand why they couldn't just use tried and tested machinery to set this up. They could have built three whole farms in the time it would take to prop up one little silo. All the people here, her included, could be off doing far more productive things. The crew of the Tempest had naturally been roped into the effort. As the galaxy's biggest celebrities, how could they not? Everyone seemed to want to get a glimpse of the heroes of the Initiative.

Sara smiled to herself idly. Her being comatose for the vast majority of the Kett Crisis had left in the proverbial shadow compared to her brother and his crew. That was fine by her. She could sneak out of stunts like this more easily that way.

Sara smirked as she eyed the rest of the Tempest's crew among the workers. Some were faring better than others. Kallo was clearly struggling, the salarian was definitely not built for this sort of work. Gil seemed to be putting a lot of effort into _seeming_ like he was helping out. Most of the fighting crew were doing well though. Cora was treating the whole thing like a personal challenge to overcome. A determined scowl adorned her face. Vetra and Jaal were pulling at the ropes with such uniformity that Sara wondered if they weren't actually machines just masquerading as a turian and an angaran. Where most lines were manned by four or five individuals, Drack had one rope all to himself. At the front of the centre line – centre stage, as it were – was Scott of course. Getting the Pathfinder involved with this little project was probably seen as a massive coup by the Initiative, even if they were paying his wages.

Sara shook her head a little with a sigh. _Of course_ Scott was front and centre. Where else would he be? She shouldn't really have been surprised. Scott seemed to relish leading the line, a general who led by the front. If she were being honest, he was pretty good at it. She'd never tell him that, of course.

"Heave!"

Sara idly watched Scott as he worked his arms in time with the rest of the workers. The muscles of his arms drew taught and loosed in rhythm under pale skin. His brow was furrowed slightly in focus. Beads of sweat were building there. The Initiative branded shirt he wore was very form fitting. She could see most of his toned torso through the sweat dampened fabric. His whole frame rose and fell steadily through heavy pants of effort.

Sara sucked on the icy liquid from her bottle in order to cool her cheeks down. It really was a hot day.

"That's it!" The foreman barked as the wall finally stood straight. Another team ran in to prop the wall up before the rope crews let go.

Sara scowled a little. She was just starting to enjoy herself.

Scott wiped his brow wearily, he looked distinctly hot and bothered, which didn't bother Sara in the slightest. The Pathfinder gratefully took a water bottle from an offering hand and swigged the cool drink. In his fatigue, a splash of water hit his cheeks and cascaded down his throat. Sara's eyes followed the lucky bead of water as it snuck over his collarbone and down under his shirt.

Scott was clearly not satisfied with the water, for he dropped the bottle to the ground and proceeded to pull his shirt over his head. Sara almost dropped her bottle as she gawked at the delicious sight in front of her. Scott's toned stomach flexed exquisitely as he stretched himself in the early afternoon sun. She'd seen Scott topless – completely naked in fact – many times before, but it was always a pleasant treat, especially when it was so unexpected.

A few calls and wolf whistles emanated from the meagre crowd nearby. Scott was clearly amused with the attention and smirked stupidly to himself.

Sara's eyes darkened murderously. Scott's body was only for her to ogle at.

"See something you like?"

Sara nearly leapt out of her skin as PeeBee popped into being right beside her.

"PeeBee! How- Where did you come from?" The female Ryder babbled out.

"Err, from just over there?" The asari pointed her thumb to the building just a few feet behind her. "Or do you mean that figuratively or something? Like from the Milky Way, or Hyetiana or whatever?"

"I Just- Don't creep up on me like that!"

"I wasn't!" PeeBee held her hands up in surrender with a hint of a smirk. "I was here the whole time. You were just too fascinated with this … whatever this is." She waved a hand vaguely in the direction of the build crew.

"I wasn't! I was just-" Sara started to protest then quickly decided better of it. "You know what, never mind. See you later." With that, she turned on her heel and left the blue skinned woman alone.

"See you later, Sara!" PeeBee called after her, ever cheerful.

Sara chanced a final look at her brother. Scott's torso was still open for ogling, but with PeeBee and so many others nearby, it was probably safer not to.

Sara sighed. A good opportunity lost.

xxx

"Heh, oh yeah, I remember that now." PeeBee chuckled, gazing off beyond the Tempest's bulkhead in memory. "I thought you were checking out that turian bloke at the time."

Sara could not remember a single turian man, or a turian woman for that matter, other than Vetra. Then again, she'd only had eyes for Scott at the time. There could have been an entire platoon of gorgeous turian men flexing right in front of her and she'd likely have missed them all.

"I wondered why you weren't there to help us out at the time." Scott suddenly appeared out of nowhere to amble onto the cargo deck with a light smirk. "Now it all makes sense."

Sara's cheeks blossomed into a deeper shade of pink, if that were possible. "I- Well, they only wanted _you_ there, Pathfinder!" She levelled an accusing finger at her brother, hoping to shift the attention. "_I_ wasn't invited."

"Not that you wanted to join in, of course." Scott merely chuckled and shook his head. "So, what's all this about anyway?"

"Sara's just telling us about all the times you two got it on." PeeBee replied helpfully.

"I was not!" Sara squawked. "They were asking about how we managed to keep it – _us_, a secret from them for so long."

"And then we wanted to know how you two got careless enough for PeeBee to figure it out." Vetra smirked.

"Hey! You make me sound bad." The asari protested. "I'm the only one who _did_ figure it out! Not my fault the rest of you are blind!"

Scott nodded his head slowly, probably wondering whether his crew had anything better to do. "Right …" He drawled.

"Come on then, your turn now, Pathfinder." Gil levelled an evil grin at Scott. "Give us a time when you were lusting over Sara right in front of us."

"Hey now, I don't _lust_ over her like that." Scott chuckled, more than a little nervously.

Sara scoffed and folded her arms with a roll of her eyes. "Liar. I've definitely caught you _lusting_ before, _many_ times. You know I have." She smirked a little at the memories.

"Come on, is this really necessary?" Scott scratched at his temple with a hint of a grimace.

"Yes." The whole crew answered in unison, without hesitation.

Scott looked over to his sweet, beloved sister for help.

"I think it's a great idea." Sara smirked maliciously, she gestured towards him expectantly. "I gave them a story, now it's your turn."

Scott narrowed his gaze dangerously. Sara could see the promise of merciless retribution in his eyes. She didn't mind that one little bit. In fact, she could look forward to a bit of retribution now and then.

"Alright then," Scott sighed reluctantly at last. "I guess there was one time …"

xxx

Though the entire human contingent of the Initiative had now been woken up from cryosleep, the Hyperion was still a thriving hive of commotion. It had become the centrepiece of Port Meridian, the capital of human settlement in Andromeda. While new buildings seemed to popup daily on the alien surface, the Ark ship never seemed any quieter.

Scott mused on such things quietly to himself as he gazed out of the window of the Hyperion, looking down on the growing city that surrounded the grounded ship. He'd never get over the fact that the land curved upwards into where the sky should be. It was equal parts amazing and terrifying. It flew in the face of thousands of years of evolutionary knowledge.

"Hey, you gonna stand there slack jawed all day?" Liam's chuckle snapped the Pathfinder out of his thoughts.

Scott shook his head with a sigh and a smirk. "It's called 'thinking', Kosta. You should try it sometime."

"Damn, is that what it was? Remind me not to try it. Looked like you were struggling with a brain aneurism or something." Liam shoved Scott's shoulder teasingly.

"That's just a side effect of the six hundred years of cryosleep. Didn't they tell you? Happens to everyone." Scott's face was a mask of perfect innocence as they walked down the shining metallic corridor.

"Nice try, but you're not getting me with that one." Liam wagged a finger. "PeeBee already tried convincing me that cryo gave you erectile dysfunction."

"Fool me once …" Scott murmured under his breath with a chuckle.

Stepping out of the corridor and into the ship's gym, Liam and Scott went into the changing room to dress more appropriately, before wandering into the gym proper. A few figures were already in the gym, working out in pairs or alone.

Scott's attention was naturally drawn to the sole krogan in the room. With a start, he realised it was Drack. The ancient warrior was casually inspecting a set of weights in his hand. It was almost surreal, watching the krogan lifting large dumbbells like they were bundles of twigs. Drack almost seemed to be bored. There was probably no challenge in it for him. Most of the other souls in the room seemed to have chosen positions a good distance away from the grizzled krogan. Scott wasn't sure if that was for fear of the gigantic race or out of a well justified sense of inferiority. Scott certainly knew _he_ couldn't get anywhere near as strong as Drack and he wasn't about to try it.

Surprisingly, there was one human close by Drack, a woman. Her back turned to Scott and Liam as she exercised. Her dark hair was drawn back in a ponytail that was slowly becoming messier and messier as she worked alongside the krogan.

With another start, Scott realised that he was looking at Sara. His sister had a barbell and was executing clean back squat form. She didn't have even half the weights Drack had, but it was still a fairly solid amount, about the same weight that Scott would choose to work with.

With half a grunt, half a sigh, Sara heaved the metal beam at her back. Her chest rising and falling steadily as she held the strain, before she relented and lowered her body in rhythm. His sister's innate strength was underlined by her stance, her fists clenched around the bar and her arms holding strong and steady against the weight. The muscles in her legs worked rhythmically under silky smooth skin. The shape and movement of Sara's body was highlighted by her form fitting spandex gym wear as it stretched and reformed like a second skin. Altogether, it was poetry in motion.

Scott idly wondered why he'd never had the opportunity to watch this before. It was practically criminal. His sister had no right looking that good working out. How many occasions had passed by without him there to witness this masterpiece?

"Hey." A soft slap to the chest startled Scott free of his perverted thoughts.

Liam was standing next to him, something of a smile on his face, or was that a smirk?

"You all good there, Pathfinder?"

"Oh- Yeah, yeah, totally." Scott cleared his throat with some difficulty.

"Well, let's not hang around all day. Knowing our luck, the good machines will get taken."

The male Ryder merely nodded numbly and reluctantly followed Liam away from his sister's vicinity. Scott couldn't quite take his eyes away from watching Sara's _technique_ until the twins were separated by a cluster of other people and machines.

_Damn it_, Scott swore to himself.

xxx

PeeBee laughed out loud. "You're both as bad as each other."

"Damn, I didn't even notice." Liam sighed, shaking his head in disbelief. "Guess I really am that blind."

Scott rubbed the back of his neck as his cheeks blushed profusely. He tried to ignore the snickering of the others and looked to Sara, trying to gauge her reaction. His sister was still blushing herself, clearly embarrassed, but a hint of a smirk crept onto her lips and into her sapphire eyes. Scott took that as a good sign.

"What's going on here?" Cora's suspicious voice cut through the laughter as the blonde biotic joined the impromptu gathering.

"Cora, The twins here were just telling us about all the times they were having eye sex right under our noses." Vetra sniggered.

Cora sighed and turned on the twins. "Really? I get that you're in love and all, but really? Right in front of us?"

"Hey, to be fair, with both of those times, we were just ogling each other." Sara protested.

"Very true." Scott nodded.

"Though, there was that _one time_ …" Sara smiled with a bashful shrug.

"Oh God, here we go." Liam snickered, putting face to palm.

"Hey, we didn't actually do anything bad!" Sara protested. "It was just one time when we were _both_ looking … at each other, that's all! Nothing more!"

"Just- Please tell me that I wasn't involved, that I _wasn't_ there." Cora rubbed at her eyes wearily.

Scott and Sara glanced at each other warily with identical grimaces.

"Oh, for the love of …" Cora swore.

xxx

The scorching sun blazed down evilly. There was scant little shade or cover anywhere to be found. The brutal, sandy expanse of Elaaden was nothing but a hell-scape in Scott's eyes. It was a wonder anyone could survive out here, let alone _want_ to. The krogans were the only ones mad enough to even try and live here. To Scott, it just lent further credence to the idea that the krogan were a mentally deranged and unstable species. In reality, it was simply due to the famous krogan constitution that had seen them survive near total nuclear extinction.

Scott was actually rather glad of that constitution, as it meant that Drack was the natural choice to send to go get help when the Nomad broke down in the middle of nowhere. Though he never quite stopped grumbling, the old krogan had agreed, most likely to show the 'puny weakling aliens' how it was done.

That left the Pathfinder, his sister Sara and Cora to mind the rover. The twins and Cora sat back against the Nomad in the slim shade it offered.

"Why did you bring me out here again?" Sara moaned between beleaguered pants.

"You wanted to come!" Scott spat without wasting precious water. "You insisted."

"Well, why'd you listen to me then? I'm clearly insane."

"I thought you wanted a world full of danger." Scott eyed his sister with a smirk.

She turned a sweat soaked scowl his way but held her tongue. Cora was too busy trying not to melt to notice. The blonde was trying to pull the collar of her suit away from her neck with limited success. She had said little since the breakdown, probably to conserve energy, or maybe to avoid shouting at the Pathfinder, Scott wasn't sure.

"I _meant_," Sara began in a quiet, murderous tone, "Dangerous animals, bandits, pirates and that sort of thing. I like my risk with a bit of excitement, _not_ sunstroke."

"Well, you should have been more specific then." The Pathfinder chuckled. He didn't often try and rile his sister deliberately, but he had little else to occupy his time with.

"Shut up." Sara shook her head and muttered less flattering things under her breath.

Sara idly picked up a pebble and tossed it away as if trying to skim a stone over a lake. It landed with a dull thud in the sand and didn't skim.

"You need to practice more. That just splashed." Scott murmured, joining Cora in pulling at the collar of his space suit. It was always tight and form fitting, but in this heat it felt like it was slowly smothering him.

Sara wheeled another glare at him. "You planned this, didn't you?" She shot him an accusing glare.

Scott laughed. "Why on earth would I _plan_ to get us stuck out here in this hell hole?" He demanded of his sister.

Sara didn't speak, but she somehow altered the glare on her face to say '_You know why_'.

Scott shot a look straight back that said '_Really? Here? With Cora right next to us?_'

'_Yes. Pervert._'

"I should have left you back on the Tempest." Scott sighed out loud, lacking the energy to argue, even through various glares and scowls.

"That's what I said!" Sara growled.

"You wanted to come! I heard you! The whole damn ship heard you!"

"You could have told me we'd be coming out to this bloody oven! If I'd have known it would be this bad, I'd never have come."

"Then read the fucking mission briefing for once!"

"_Enough_!" Cora cried out suddenly.

The twins spun round in alarm at a voice that wasn't their own. The blonde biotic got up from her slouch and stood over the Ryders, hands on hips, expression menacing.

"If you two _children_ can't behave then stay away from each other! Sara, move, _now_!" Cora pointed to the ground by the rear of the Nomad.

Mumbling all the way, Sara scooted herself over and away from her brother, keeping herself in the precious shade at all times. With a relieved sigh, Cora sat down again in the space Sara had vacated, between the twins. The blonde gave each Ryder a pointed glare before returning to silence.

Scott sighed and glanced over at Sara. He stuck his tongue out at her.

Sara rolled her eyes with a shake of her head but said nothing.

"How long do you think Drack'll be?" Scott asked no one in particular after a while.

"Don't know." Sara sighed. She picked up her arm and checked the time on her Omni-tool. "He's already been an hour."

Scott's sigh was more moan than not.

The trio sat in silence for … well, Scott had no idea how long. Time didn't really seem to pass on the desert planet. He was almost certain that the sun above hadn't moved an inch in the sky. The Pathfinder checked the water left in his canteen. He didn't have to worry about dehydration just yet, unless the ladies hadn't managed their own supplies as well. Naturally, he'd be honour bound to surrender his own precious water for their survival. _That would be just like Sara_, he scowled to himself.

He glanced again over towards the women. Cora seemed to be doing just fine. Sweat coated her face, but her expression was calm and her breathing even. She was probably just glad to have a bit of silence for a change.

Sara however, was struggling. She had never coped well with extreme heat. She had always been more of a winter woman than a summer one. Hot weather always made a little bit cranky, though he'd never say that to her face of course. Sara was currently trying everything she could think of to cool down, alternating every minute when it didn't have the desired effect. Fanning herself with her hands, not moving any body part at all, meditating like Cora was. Clearly nothing worked. With a sigh, the female Ryder decided on something. Sara began fumbling with her chest piece.

Alerted by the sudden noise and jostling, Cora looked over. "You know you'll need that on when we get out of here?"

"_If_ we get out of here." Sara moaned as she pulled her chest piece free. It fell in the sand with a dull thud. "I just need to breathe a little."

"Whatever works for you." Cora closed her eyes and leaned her head back.

Scott took to counting the pebbles between his feet to pass the time.

Sara proceeded to pull the armour plating of her suit off over the next few minutes, each joining the breastplate in the sand. Sara sighed with relief when she'd done. She was left in her form fitting space suit. She pulled the zip down low and began fanning herself with one of the white lapels.

Naturally, Scott chose that exact moment to look back over. His eyes widened at the sight. Sara's relieved expression and the half smile, the sweat that clung to her fair skin, the steady rise and fall of her chest as she panted heavily. Scott's eyes focussed on that one glistening bead of sweat that slid gracefully down her chin, the elegant curve of her neck, between her almost exposed-

Scott turned away quickly with a grimace. His temperature had risen even more now. He was certain of it. Great. _Stupid, sexy Sara_.

Despite himself, he very slowly chanced a look back over towards his sister.

Naturally, Sara was staring right at him now. A glare once more adorned her beautiful face.

'_Pervert_.' The scowl said.

How any face could be so beautiful while scowling like that was beyond Scott. It was criminal. It was unfair.

Then, her glare became a smirk and she jerked her chin at him.

'_Now you._'

Scott narrowed his eyes in suspicion. He slowly dragged them round to look at Cora. The biotic still had her eyes closed and head back, completely unaware of the Ryders' antics.

Scott slowly turned back to his sister. Sara wiggled her eyebrows and a challenge at him.

In less than a minute, his armour hit the sand too.

xxx

"My God." Cora moaned into her hand. "Even when you're stranded and dehydrating on an alien planet, you two can't get enough of each other."

Scott and Sara, for their part, wore identical awkward expressions of admonishment.

"Have you two always had such strong libidos?" Gil asked nonchalantly from above. "Might want to get Lexi to look at that."

"We're fine, thank you, Gil." Sara muttered with a shake of her head.

"Ok," Scott began, clapping his hands together. "I think that's more than enough to satisfy everyone's curiosity for today."

"Well, Lexi, Kallo and Suvi aren't here." PeeBee called down mischievously. "Let's call them down and see what they think."

"_No_." The Pathfinder's tone left no room for argument. "Come on guys, back to work now, all of you."

There were a few, hardly enthusiastic choruses of "Yes boss" as the crew of the Tempest begrudgingly got back to their duties.

Scott caught Sara's eye once more as the others shuffled about. She gave him a look, a significant look, one that he was well versed in. It merely said: '_later'_.

"Look! Everyone look!" PeeBee cried with delight. "They're doing it again!"

xxx

Scott padded into his private cabin. He stepped up to the viewing window and gazed out at the stars beyond. The sparkling points were strewn about the inky black canvas as though someone had cast them about in a wide arc. Spectral rivers of colour danced over the stars in formations Scott never knew existed. It was beautiful sight, unlike anything else in the galaxy. And he knew that each and every one of those stars held the promise of new sights to see and adventures to be had. It was as near to perfection as he could dream of.

_Speaking of_, he thought with a smirk as he heard the door whistle open behind him. He turned from the beauty of the stars to the beauty of his sister. Sara strode inside the cabin with a confident step. Before she approached him, she brought up her omni-tool and tapped a command. The door closed behind her and locked shut with a sharp click.

"I'm making sure this time." Sara smiled.

"Probably wise, but I reckon we won't get anyone knocking on our door for a while."

Sara chuckled. "You're probably right, but still, doesn't hurt to make sure."

Scott slowly moved over to Sara and his hands settled over her hips. Sara breathed a contented sigh and her hands began to wander over his body.

"So, you've been watching me, have you?" Sara murmured seductively in Scott's ear.

"Maybe a little." Scott couldn't help but smirk. "But can you really blame me?"

Sara answered by pushing him back onto the bed. Scott chuckled and sat up to pull her down with him. Before he could, Sara swept upon him, stopping him from kissing her with a single, slender finger over his lips. It was such a simple movement that had no strength behind it at all, but Scott found himself pinned in place by the look in her eyes.

"I want your eyes on me." She purred, deep and broody. Her large, sapphire eyes alight with a lustful fire, Scott was lost in them.

The Pathfinder could only nod.

Sara smiled, not a sweet, charming smile, but a devilishly seductive one. She slowly drew herself back from Scott and the bed. Sara moved with such lithe elegance, like a flame made human, starting a slow dance in the hushed quiet of that cabin. Her hips swung around to a rhythm only she could hear and slowly she pulled down the zip to her jacket. Sara never took her eyes from Scott's, not when she spun in lazy circles, not when her chocolate coloured bangs fell into her gaze between them.

Scott was transfixed. As much as he wanted to jump up and kiss her and hold her and show her just how amazing she really was, he never wanted this show to end. So he stayed perched on the end of the bed, clenching the sheets through his fingers.

Sara smirked to herself with each garment she rid herself of. For each item that hit the floor, she seemed to pick up the intensity a little. When she finally reached the last of her clothes, her underwear, Sara paused in her dance. She pulled her hair out of her ponytail and let it cascade down over her shoulders. She let Scott's eyes rove all over her supple form and seemed to relish it. Instead of continuing the dance, Sara sashayed her way over to Scott. Standing before him, Sara tipped her brother's head back, their eyes still locked in a carnal embrace, and moved in.

"God, you're perfect." Scott breathed, just before she claimed him with a kiss.


	8. Our First Step

**Our First Step**

The stars outside the viewport twinkled and danced lazily in the inky black of space. Sara watched them as they hung there in the void, almost transfixed, though her mind was elsewhere. She wondered what had happened in the Milky Way over the last six hundred years or so. Had galactic society advanced to all new incredible and unprecedented frontiers or had it all come crumbling down to nought but dust? Either way, it might almost be worth the six hundred year return journey just to find out, she thought with a smirk. Sara didn't often find her thoughts drifting back to the place of her birth, but every now and then she did wonder just what she had left behind, what opportunities were lost and such. Not that she regretted making the voyage to Andromeda, far from it. Still, she couldn't help but wonder.

"Credit for your thoughts?"

Sara blinked and turned to see Vetra ambling over towards her. The turian's soft footsteps echoed slightly in the wide open space of the observation deck. The two warrior women were on the Nexus, along with the rest of the Tempest's crew, as it hung silently in the cosmos.

"Just thinking about our old home, in the Milky Way." Sara smiled as Vetra took a seat next to her.

"Isn't there some sort of taboo against that kind of thing?" Vetra asked with a hint of a smirk. "I think Director Tann had it outlawed or something."

Sara chuckled. "Probably, I just can't help it I guess." She quickly glanced over either shoulder to make sure they were alone. "Besides, I'm hardly the most law abiding citizen of the galaxy, am I?"

Vetra snorted back a chuckle. "What? You shack up with your brother and all of a sudden you're a hardened criminal now?"

"Hey! I could be." Sara folded her arms with a fake scowl. "You don't know what I was before we all came here. I could have been a dangerous bounty hunter or a pirate for all you know. I could have been anyone. You don't know."

Vetra very clearly rolled her eyes.

"Alright, fine. I wasn't some dangerous crime lord or something." Sara relented with a pout.

"You don't say." Vetra chuckled with a healthy dose of sarcastic wonder.

"But my point still stands! You don't anything about who I used to be back in the Milky Way."

"I doubt you'd have been able to get past all those background checks we had to go through to get on the Initiative's books. Hell, I'm pretty sure I was checked five times before I even got a glimpse of the Nexus." Vetra pointed out. "A career criminal would have stood out like a sore thumb."

"I could have had my Dad pull some strings. He was something of a bigwig in the Initiative after all."

"True, but Scott's already told us all how the two of you used to be Alliance soldiers, whiter than white types." The turian smirked back at the human. "Apparently you both served with distinction and could have gone far, until your Dad's AI research came out that is."

"Alright, fine." Sara pouted. "I guess I don't do 'criminal'."

"Not even in the slightest." Vetra smirked.

Sara merely shook her head in reply and took to gazing back out at the stars once more.

"Feeling homesick?" The turian asked quietly after a time.

"Not really. I'm just curious about what's going on back there." Sara nodded towards the stars to indicate the Milky Way. In truth, she had no idea if she was even looking in the right direction of her home galaxy, but it made it easier to believe that she was. "But no, this is my home now, with Scott and all of you guys." She smiled up at the turian.

Vetra merely punched the human's arm softly in reply.

"It does make me think though …" Sara started, chewing her lip slightly. "Where even is our home?"

"Andromeda?" Vetra ventured, slightly confused. "Or do you mean the Tempest?"

"We can't live on the Tempest forever, Vetra." Though the idea had its charm, she doubted the Initiative would let one of their most advanced ships be used as a retirement home for some of their first wave of explorers, no matter how important most of those explorers had been to the Initiative and the galaxy at large. "We'll have to move on, settle down someday."

"Maybe …" Vetra murmured, deep in thought. "It just doesn't seem real to think about."

"Hopefully that day's a long way off." Sara smiled, she had no intention of retiring anytime soon. "But it doesn't hurt to think about it. We'll have to start thinking about laying claim to some land before all the best bits are taken."

"Well, there's plenty of space to go around out there, might be worth scoping out the best spots to claim for yourself before anyone else gets the same idea. Do you and Scott have any plans?"

Sara smiled wide at the thought. "We did talk once about building our own little cabin, out on the frontier somewhere. It would be a real, old fashioned sort of house, like people used to have back on Earth. It would be outside of any town or city, just a quiet place, where we could live together without having to worry all the time."

"That's awfully … quaint?"

"You were going to say sickening or something, weren't you?" Sara levelled a humoured glare at her companion.

"Maybe, maybe not, I guess you'll never know now." Vetra winked.

Sara chuckled. "Honestly, I don't know if it's possible, but it's nice to have a dream to hope for."

"Well, we got here on the back of a dream didn't we? Jien Garson's dream brought us all here in the first place. Never say never."

"What about you? Do you have any grand dreams for the future?"

"Me? Nah." Vetra shook her head as if the idea was ludicrous. "As long as Sid's alright, that's all that matters to me."

"Come on, Vetra. You must have some sort of desires or plans?" Sara tried to coax the turian with a smile.

"I don't know." Vetra rubbed at the back of her neck idly. "For so long my whole life's been just looking out for whatever Sid needs. Never had much time to think of anything else, you know?"

"Well, think about it. You deserve a life too you know." Sara smiled warm and genuine.

Vetra returned the gesture, if a little hesitantly.

"Sara?"

The new voice brought both Sara's and Vetra's heads around. Lexi was walking up to them, her footsteps echoing ever so quietly on the shining metal floor.

"Lexi, come join us." Sara smiled warmly at the asari doctor.

"I was looking for you actually." Lexi murmured. "I was hoping to have a quiet word."

"Uh oh, that sounds serious." Vetra half chuckled. "Wait, it's not contagious to turians, is it? Whatever it is?" She scooted away from Sara quickly.

The human scowled at the turian.

"No, no. Sara was the picture of health at her last check up." Lexi appeased with a well-practiced medical smile. Sara wasn't sure if she should feel reassured or not.

"Good, that's all I need to know." Vetra got up from her seat. "Well, catch you two later." She waved a hand vaguely as she strolled off.

"Alright Doc," Sara began with a sigh as Lexi took Vetra's place on the bench. "First things first, tell me the bad news."

"There is no bad news, Sara."

"What do you mean? Doctor's never just ask for a quiet word with someone to talk about the weather or something." Sara said, her brow furrowed in slight confusion.

Lexi chuckled. "Yes, I know what you mean, but that's not the case this time." The asari glanced over her shoulder to check that Vetra had left the two alone. "I just wanted to let you know, after you and Scott told us all about the true nature of your relationship, I thought I'd do some inquiries."

"Inquiries?" Sara questioned with a raised brow.

Lexi nodded and leaned in with a lowered voice. "Remember what I said back then? That it was probable any children you two might have would likely be born with _complications_?"

Sara nodded glumly. She did remember well. She had always known it to be the case, but having it confirmed by a professional made it seem all the more real somehow.

"Well, I've spoken with a few colleagues, geneticists in particular – I haven't named you two at all, before you ask – anyway, I've found that it _is_ possible to overcome this particular obstacle."

"What?"

Lexi nodded with a smile. "With gene therapy, it is possible to alter or remove any particular elements of the genome that would cause issue in later life."

Sara let out the breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding. She gazed into Lexi's eyes suspiciously, searching for any lie or hint of doubt. "Are you serious? Me and Scott could actually … start a family?"

"Yes, it's possible." Lexi smiled true.

"How? I mean, I've looked into this before, back in the Milky Way. I've never found anything like that."

"Well, many of the best and brightest ventured with us to Andromeda, remember. Besides, your particular situation with Scott wasn't completely unplanned for."

"You're joking." Sara half laughed, half scoffed.

"Not at all." Lexi said, completely serious. "Think about it, only a small proportion of our species ventured here, didn't they? Maybe two or three hundred thousand people in total, including all those on board the Nexus and the Arks. For each species, that's probably around fifty thousand colonists, maybe? Not a very large section of the galactic gene pool, is it?"

"That seems like a lot of people to me."

"Oh, most definitely, but when every life is needed to make sure the Initiative survives, that _all _life survives and prospers in Andromeda, It's clear that every eventuality was thought of to … promote and ensure our fertility, shall we say, including the possibility of reproduction from incest."

While it rankled with Sara to have the functional aspect of her relationship with Scott boiled down to such clinical terms, she couldn't help but smile. "So someone in the medical staff thought we might _all_ turn out to be … well, be like me and Scott?"

"Not _all_, but it was considered a definite possibility." Lexi smiled a little.

"Wow." Sara murmured under her breath. She could hardly believe it. Could it really be possible? "You're not stringing me along, are you? PeeBee's not gonna jump out from behind you shouting '_Surprise! Gotcha!_' or something like that?"

"Nope." Lexi stifled a chuckle. "Though I'm sure PeeBee would do that without question, if asked." The asari put a hand on Sara's shoulder. "I'm serious, Sara. You and Scott could start a family, if you wanted."

Sara dragged a hand through her hair roughly with a heavy sigh. She had no idea what to do or say. Something that had been so impossible for her and Scott for so long … could they really do it? She struggled to comprehend the idea. "What would we have to do?"

Lexi drew a small card from her pocket. "Here, Dr Aravus, a turian geneticist. He specialises in gene therapy across all species. Speak to him when you choose to get the ball rolling."

Sara bit her lip slightly as she considered the card. "And he'll be … _discrete_?"

"Of course. We are all bound by patient confidentiality, Sara." Lexi smiled softly. "If you want, I could come to your first appointment? I could help explain the situation?" She offered.

"Thank you … but I need to talk to Scott about all this first." Sara almost chuckled again. Already she started rehearsing how that conversation would start: '_Hey Scott, wanna make a little Scott or Sara safely? Well I've got a once in a lifetime opportunity for you!_'

"Of course." Lexi nodded and took to her feet again. "If ever you need anything, you know where to find me."

"Wait, have you told Scott about all this?"

"No. Forgive me, but based on how you reacted when I said that having children wasn't the best idea … I thought you'd appreciate the news."

"You don't think Scott will?" Sara's mouth suddenly dried out.

"No, no! Sorry, that's not what I meant. I only meant that you looked … well, devastated when I told you about the risks before. Like your dreams had all been dashed at once."

"Am I really so obvious?" Sara chuckled faintly, feeling a little bit exposed.

"I'm sure Scott wants the same. In fact, I'd be prepared to stake my qualifications and research on it. Besides, think of it this way, you get to go tell him the good news yourself."

A small smirk crept over Sara's lips at the idea. Scott would be thrilled, she was sure of it.

"Thank you, Lexi." Sara smiled warmly up at the asari doctor. "This was really thoughtful of you."

Lexi smiled back. "My pleasure."

xxx

Sara tried to keep her walk as calm and measured as possible, but she couldn't help that sense of urgency she felt to her core from entering her stride. She bobbed along through the Nexus on the lookout for Scott, practically skipping. She wasn't sure where her brother was. The station was huge at the best of times. It seemed so much larger whenever she needed to find someone in it. Sara finally caught him as he was heading out of the Operations centre. She'd just stepped off the tram and had barely taken a few steps up the corridor when Scott emerged from the double doors on the other side.

"Scott!" Sara smiled wide with a wave as she finally caught sight of her brother.

"Sara!" The Pathfinder responded likewise and hurried over, seemingly excited himself.

_Had Lexi already told him?_ Sara thought to herself. No, the asari doctor had said she wanted Sara to be the one to tell him. It didn't make sense that she'd go back on that so quickly. So why was Scott's smile so wide?

"Come on." Scott almost dragged Sara along with him when he reached her, pulling her back in the direction she had just come from. He was fighting to keep a silly smile from his lips, she saw it in the way he bit his cheek. "We need to get back to the ship."

"What's going on? Has something happened?" Sara's concern only grew.

"It's a surprise." Scott winked at her conspiratorially.

"What are you up to?" Sara narrowed her eyes a little but she let herself be pulled along as her intrigue grew.

"You'll find out soon enough." Scott said mysteriously.

"This isn't just some ploy to get me into bed, is it?" Sara eyed him up and down with a smirk.

"No!" Scott wore a highly offended face that did a poor job of hiding his amusement. "Although … would it work if it was?"

"Not in a million years." Sara scoffed, lying easily.

"Damn. Then no. Definitely not. I've got something to show you."

"What's the rush?"

"You'll see."

Sara sighed, realising she wouldn't get any more out of him until he was ready to share his little secret.

"Scott, are we going somewhere private? I've got something to tell you."

Scott froze in his tracks. "That doesn't sound good."

"No, no. It's nothing like that. I just-" Sara looked around, there were only a handful of souls wondering about, none of them paying any mind to the twins but still. "I just need to talk to you, in private."

"Alright." Scott didn't look particularly relieved as they got onto the tram. They both stood aside to let the handful of people off. Sara was relieved to find they were finally alone.

"Is it a quick tram ride length sorta _conversation_," Scott waggled his eyebrows suggestively, "or do we need more time?"

"No you idiot!" Sara rapped his arm with a scowl.

"Alright, alright. Only joking."

Sara fixed him with a glare.

"Only half joking." Scott corrected. "Alright, we can head to the Tempest? No one will disturb us there."

"Ok. Good, that'll work." Sara nodded, relieved she wouldn't have to explain everything in the bare minute or two they'd have to themselves before they were inevitably swarmed.

"Are you sure everything's alright?"

"Yes, it's fine Scott. I just can't really go into it, not here."

"Can I have a hint?"

"No! Just hold on, damn it!" Sara snapped.

Scott merely chuckled in reply but kept his mouth shut for the rest of the brief ride.

Soon enough they were at the Docking Bay, the Tempest stood proud over the docks and the pristine gardens below. Even after all this time, whenever the Pathfinder's ship made berth, it always seemed to attract attention. Passer's-by turned their heads more often than not and a pair of young turians leaned over the railings in awe. Sara smiled at the sight of them. They reminded her so much of herself and Scott as children, dreaming of intergalactic adventures while gawking at the docks on the Citadel many years ago. She still remembered the day humanity got its first Council Spectre in Commander Shepherd. She and Scott had stayed up late into the night just to catch all the news coverage. It was strange to think that her brother was now a hero figure in a similar vein.

Scott and Sara strode over towards the Tempest, the slightly taller of the young turians turned at just the right time to see them walk by. He elbowed the other turian while gawking awkwardly. The shorter one turned with an annoyed expression that quickly changed to shock when he too caught sight of the human Pathfinder. Scott offered them both a jaunty salute and a wink as the twins passed. Sara couldn't contain her silly smile when she heard two identical gasps of joy behind them.

"What?" Scott turned a quizzical look her way.

"Nothing." Sara shook her head, still smiling. "Just … You're good with kids, that's all."

"Thanks?" Scott looked nonplussed.

They soon arrived at the Tempest proper and strode up the boarding ramp. The ship was seemingly empty save for Gil who was tinkering with something in the engine room.

"Is this private enough?" Scott asked.

"Not quite." Sara grabbed him by the hand. "Come on."

"Yes ma'am." Scott drawled but duly followed.

Sara led them to their private cabin, once inside, she locked the door.

"Alright, now you have me all to yourself." Scott opened his arms wide. "You sure you don't just want to have your wicked way with me?"

"Shut up." Sara gave him a shove. She paced back and forth across the cabin. "Sit down."

"Sara, what-"

"Just sit down!" The female Ryder indicated the bed with an angry, pointed finger.

Scott sighed as he gave in, taking his seat as ordered.

"Right …" Sara began as she paced again, her fingers wound themselves together then back again. Why was there this heavy pit in her stomach? "Right."

"Right." Scott input helpfully.

"Right." Sara sighed. "Ok, I err … had a bit of a chat with Lexi earlier."

Scott's face appeared to drain of all blood.

"I'm sick before you think that!" Sara yelped belatedly realising how that must have sounded.

"Are you sure? Everything's alright?"

"Yes, sorry, I just-, just listen, ok?"

Scott nodded softly, colour still lacking in his cheeks but he duly waited for his sister to continue.

"She err, Lexi she had a bit of a suggestion for me, for us, really, for both of us."

"… Ok?"

Sara's mouth had never been dryer. She swallowed thickly. "She told me, that … well, it might – She said it _might_ be possible, we'd have to go to see a doctor and have consultations and all that stuff – but she said that we _could_, if we both wanted to that is, we could … maybe, have a baby… _safely_."

Scott leaned forward, putting his hands together in an approximation of praying. "What?"

Sara nodded. "We could really do it." She murmured. "Lexi told me that it's possible. We could really have a kid, without any of the … you know, the complications. I don't know how it works, I haven't looked into it properly yet. I wanted to tell you first."

"But, how is that even possible?" Scott seemed confused. "It- It just doesn't work like that, we know that. That's why we always took precautions."

"I know." Sara shrugged, a hint of a smile returning. "I don't get it either, but apparently all the doctors thought that something like this might happen at some point. They have some drug or treatment or something that'll make it work."

Scott let out a heavy sigh. His face fell to the floor.

"Scott?" Sara approached her beloved brother hesitantly. "Talk to me. What are you thinking?"

Sara was just reaching out to put a hand gingerly upon Scott's shoulder when her brother suddenly shot up. Scott stood and in one fell movement lifted Sara into his arms. She quickly tossed her arms around him to keep her balance. She was so taken aback by the sudden movement that it took a few moments to realise that he was laughing.

"I can't believe it. Are you serious?" Scott gazed at her, wide eyed, a stupid grin plastered to his stupid handsome face. Sara could see those eyes were wet.

"Yes. I really am." Sara laughed, feeling a few tears of her own threaten to break free.

Scott chuckled again and pulled her into a deep kiss. "I can't believe it. I could almost kiss Lexi." He declared when they parted.

"I was tempted myself." Sara smiled.

"I can't believe it." Scott repeated, his voice quiet and full of awe.

"Me neither." Sara's voice a little husky with emotion.

"We really … we can really …" Scott opened and closed his mouth to speak a couple of times before giving up with a chuckle.

"I know." Sara hugged his head to her chest, kissing the crown of his head. "I know."

"I love you." Scott murmured into her. "So damn much."

"I love you more." Sara smirked.

"Not possible."

"Try me."

The two of them swayed like that for a time, quietly holding each other in a loving embrace. One of Sara's legs dangled softly from side to side as Scott swayed with his sister in his arms, she hooked the other leg back a bit. She wrapped her arms around his head and back as they embraced. It was a beautiful eternity before Sara remembered something.

"Hang on." She started, picking her head up. "Didn't you want to tell me something?"

"Crap! I almost forgot!" Scott gently brought his sister back down to the deck again before checking something on his omni-tool. He typed out a message quickly.

"What is it?"

Scott held up a finger with a conspiratorial wink. "You'll just have to wait and see."

"Come on! I gave you some good news, now it's your turn. We're alone right now, it's as good a time as any."

"Nuh-uh. We have to go somewhere first and for that, we need Kallo."

"Kallo? Why do we need Kallo?"

"We're flying, of course."

"Where?" Sara narrowed her brow suspiciously.

Scott's smile was so bright it could probably light up all of the Nexus itself.

"Kannalar."

xxx

The Tempest touched down in a familiar verdant meadow, but the scenery had changed somewhat since Scott's last visit. A small research base had been set up courtesy of the Initiative, a handful of prefab homes and basic defences had all been erected in a small cluster.

"It's a bit of a pity really." Sara murmured as she descended the Tempest's loading ramp besides her brother. "I think I preferred it when we were the only ones here."

"Every planet will get inhabited at some point."

"I know, I just liked the isolated feel of this place. Does that seem strange?"

"Why would it?"

"It's just- We're so used living in crowded places: the Citadel, Meridian, life on an active ship. I can't remember the last time we ever spent any actual time away from other people. You know, other than in our bedrooms. When we were last here … it was nice." Sara smiled warmly at the memory.

"Are you forgetting the whole Drack incident?"

Sara scowled at her brother. Evidently she had. Scott couldn't imagine why, they'd had to literally drag the krogan out of an angry local beast's slathering maw. Not an easy thing to do when said krogan was trying his hardest to fight the damn beast from the inside. "I meant before that."

"Well, at least it's not as busy as Port Meridian." Scott offered, taking a measured look over the settlement. "I'd be surprised if there were as many as a hundred people on the whole planet."

"True." Sara nodded, slightly brighter.

"Besides, this isn't what I wanted to show you." Scott turned and keyed a command into his omni-tool. The Nomad trundled out of the ship at their heel.

"What are you up to?" Sara put her hands on her hips with a suspicious expression.

"You'll see." Scott replied cryptically with a smile. "Now get in."

Sara sighed but followed Scott into the Nomad. For once she didn't protest that Scott got to drive, she seemed content in the passenger seat, gazing out of the window as they wound their way across the serene landscape. It was rather relaxing really, which was such a dramatic change to their usual experiences in and around the Nomad: chasing after bandits, running down rogue servitors or fleeing from angry local beasts.

"Are you ever gonna tell me what's at the end of this drive?"

"We're nearly there." Scott leaned forward over the wheel a little to gaze up out of the windscreen. "See that?"

Sara copied her brother. She saw the ground rise up in the distance, rapidly approaching. The mountain they'd climbed the first time they'd arrived on the planet.

"You didn't bring me here just for a rematch did you? I'll be sure to beat you this time." She snickered as she punched his arm.

"No, that's not what I had in mind." Scott smiled.

"Chicken." Sara sang.

Scott merely rolled his eyes. "I've got something better planned."

"Will you just tell me what it is? You've built up enough suspense by now surely."

"Hang on, hang on. It'll be good, I promise. See that ridge over there, the one overlooking the valley?" He pointed it out helpfully. "That's where we're going."

"Ok …" Sara narrowed her eyes at their destination, a parcel of land beneath the foot of the mountain that stood over a wide, shallow valley below. There was nothing particularly notable about it, nothing that Sara could see at any rate. Just some grass and rocks, the odd plant here and there.

"You'll see." Scott murmured with a hint of a smirk, evidently registering her confusion.

Soon Scott had pulled the Nomad to a halt and the twins got out. Scott seemed most eager to get a good look at this strip of nothingness. He was biting his lip and kept nodding to himself as though deeply satisfied.

"Alright, what have you got that's so important for me?" Sara sighed as she slowly stretched her arms and legs out. She was eager to see just what her brother was up to, but she wasn't about to let him know that.

"Come over here." Scott beckoned with a barely contained grin as he strode over towards the edge of the shelf.

"I don't think its steep enough for sledding." Sara drawled but duly followed.

"Just stand over here, next to me." Scott leaned over to position her exactly where he wanted. The twins Ryder stood facing out over the valley. It was a nice view really, a river ran calm along the base of the valley and the mountains far into the distance framed the sky above. Forests crept up and over the hills between those mountains and the valley below them. "Now, tell me, what do you see?"

"Uh … trees?"

"Try again."

"Clouds?" Sara put a hand up to shield her eyes as she gazed up at said clouds.

"And again."

"I think there's a big cow looking thing over there. Maybe it's a moose?" She squinted at the questionable beast in the distance.

"Shall I put you out of your misery?"

"Please, before I kill you."

"Ok," Scott angled his hands to create the opposite corners of a picture frame as he gazed through it. "I see a view to wake up to in the morning." He turned his cheek splitting grin to her.

"Ok …" Sara drawled long and slow. "So … do you want to take a picture? We can hang it up on the Tempest or-"

Scott took his sister by the shoulders. "Sara, what would you say to having this view to wake up to every morning? Just the two of us?"

Sara turned her suspicious gaze towards the view her brother was seemingly so enamoured with, then back to her beaming brother. "It's alright? Pretty good I guess. Do you want me to take the photo or …?" She raised her omni-tool tentatively.

Scott laughed. "No, no, no. That's not what I'm saying."

"I wish you would just say what you're saying." Sara scowled.

Scott sighed and let go of her shoulders, he brought up his own omni-tool and pinged away at it. "Sara, what if I told you that we are now the proud owners of …" He gestured in a wide arc with his right arm, "This."

"What?"

"It's true." Scott pinged away again on his omni-tool, he swore a couple of times as his haste caused him to miss key. Soon enough, he found what he was after and angled his arm to show Sara what he'd found. It was long text document which Scott helpfully summarised. "You are looking at the deeds to this valley." He enlarged part of the document. "Pathfinder Valley. Which is now, ours."

"We own this place?" Sara stared at her brother.

Scott nodded with a wide smile.

Sara looked out over the view again, _their_ view now she supposed. "How? This must have cost a fortune."

"Well, being Pathfinder has a few perks. I had to pull in a few favours and twist some arms a little, but it's true."

"But … why did you buy this … this?" She gestured to everything around them.

"Don't you like it?" Scott's heart almost dive bombed off of the mountain behind him.

"I just don't get it-" Sara rubbed at her eyes, then it clicked.

_A view to wake up to in the morning_.

Those were his words, his exact words. That meant …

"You got this for us, to live here?"

"Yeah." Scott bit at his lip nervously. "That is, if you want to?" He waited for a reply for a long moment but Sara was just too flabbergasted to respond. "Ok, I haven't set anything in stone or anything, but I had a few ideas, I thought maybe …" He trailed off as he marched back away a few places.

Sara watched him, mouth slightly agape as her brain processed.

Scott indicated an arbitrary starting point. "Here, we could have the front door." He walked forward a few paces, indicating imaginary walls with his hands. "Have an entryway going in here, stairs up at the side." He turned towards the vista. "Maybe the kitchen or living room here, looking out over the valley. Then maybe …" He trailed off, looking to Sara to gauge her reaction, his cheeks blushing slightly. "Well, something like that at any rate."

"Scott." Sara sighed, shaking her head with a fond smile. "This is beautiful."

"What?" It was Scott's mouth that was agape in surprise now.

"Come here." Sara chuckled as she strode over and pulled him into a deep kiss. "I had no idea you were planning all this."

"I didn't really." Scott sighed, relieved. "I just had the idea a short while ago and thought I'd see if I could make it happen for you. One thing led to another and, well, here we are."

"You did this for me?" Sara gazed up at him with a broad smile.

"Of course I did. I'm not gonna go through all of that for Tann now am I?"

Sara laughed and kissed him again. "I love it. I love you!" She gazed out at the valley once more, this time with the gears of her mind turning. "We really own all of this?"

"Yep," Scott smiled as he hugged her close. "Pretty much everything you see, from just beyond the ridge on the other side of the valley, all the way back up to the foot of the mountain behind us."

"Wow, we could do so much with this." Sara nodded absently. "We could build a whole town if we wanted."

"Let's start off small first."

"Screw that, I want a mansion!"

Sara extracted herself from her brother's embrace while he laughed and began assessing the plot of land beneath them. She pondered the possibilities for a good few minutes, murmuring to herself as she did so. Scott seemed happy to let her scheme. He wandered back to the Nomad and brought back a bottle each.

"Ok, you didn't have a _bad_ plan, _but_ …" Sara began as she took the bottle that was offered.

"Whatever you want, I'm happy with." Scott smiled expectantly and leaned back to take a seat on a nearby rock.

Sara took a breath before she began. "Ok. Well if we move the front doorway out this way that'll create more space for the stairs so we can have a downstairs bathroom behind them. Then have the living room over there so you get the best of the view and put the kitchen here were we can welcome guests and have an adjoining dining room that stretches out towards the ridge over there." She took a quick gulp of beer before continuing. "Then upstairs we could have a balcony that overlooks the living room – make it open plan to make most of the space, you know? – Then, obviously we have a study up right around here and a guest room next door. We can have a kid's room next to that. We can actually do that now! It's all coming together. Ok, across the hall will be our bedroom with ensuite there and a balcony going outside and …" Sara stopped suddenly and looked over sheepishly at her brother. "I'm just taking over this, aren't I?"

"Maybe a little." Scott winked at her. "But I love you anyway."

Sara laughed a little in admonishment. "I'm sorry, I just, I'm so excited! We've really got our own home, finally." She gazed out once more at the view in amazement. Knowing that the view was now hers made so much of a difference somehow.

"We've got a fair way to go yet before we can really call it that." Scott kicked over a stone to make his point.

Sara smiled and approached him again. "Still, it's a start, a real one. Our first step. Thank you."

"No need to thank me." Scott smiled. "Hey, have you noticed what the best part is?"

"There's more?" Sara immediately whipped her gaze around eagerly.

Scott stood and moved closer to whisper in her ear. "Look around us, what do you see?"

Sara looked around. There was the valley of course, the forests and distant mountains beyond that, the mountain at their back, that seemed to stretch around the valley in a crescent shape, encompassing their land. Then it hit her.

"We're closed off. It's just us here, isn't it?" A small smile crept up onto her lips again.

Scott nodded with a smile of his own. "I doubt we'll find a more private place in all of Andromeda, a place where we can just be us and not have to worry about hiding."

"You've thought of everything, haven't you?" Sara smiled.

"Just about." Scott winked at her. Then, he pulled her close and his gaze became heady as it travelled between her eyes and lips and lower still. "Want to know what I'm thinking right now?" He murmured seductively.

"I'm sure I can have a good guess." Sara smirked and leaned into the kiss she knew was coming. She wrapped her arms around his neck and couldn't think of a better way to commemorate their new home.


End file.
